Margrave Haifrall


 * "I've had teams sent to kill me, a hundred soldiers try to overpower me, and now I have a bounty from the world's two greatest powers? With all sincerity and honesty, I'm quite flattered."

Margrave Haifrall is a human and rogue mage, wanted internationally by both the Alliance and the Horde for his numerous crimes. After his defection from the Kirin Tor, he began working towards his own ends, experimenting with various groups and individuals in his search for a means to power.

Description
Character reference above, in the infobox, for recent appearance.

Margrave stands at about 1.8 meters tall, and has a fairly slim figure. He has always had relatively short black hair, and dark blue eyes that always search whoever may stand before him.

As a child, Margrave was relatively tall for his age, and had a substantial amount of hair that somewhat fell over his face. (Reference here.) He frequently wore dark colored clothing, such as black.

When he joined the Kirin Tor, Margrave had grown a beard, and frequently wore violet robes. His hair had not really changed, but was pushed back behind his ears.

Today, Margrave Haifrall has fairly short black hair that fell somewhat freely over his face, but most of it was trimmed, leaving only a couple of strands over his face. Though he once had a beard, he has shaved it in his time in an alternate timeline. His face is, oddly enough, pleasant, as if bearing an expression of amusement and occasional happiness, but is not beyond dropping to a glare of irritation or an expression of seriousness. He wears simple black garments with a pair of black cloth gloves, though he retains his steel-toed boots from the Organization. Over these black garments he now wears a Chained Reign coat.

Chained Reign Coat
The coat Margrave wears is a dark crimson in color, characteristic of the Chained Reign, with a collar that barely reaches past his chin. He wears the coat openly, exposing his clothes underneath. The sleeves are fairly loose, and his hand can always been seen past the reach of the sleeves. The symbol of the Chained Reign – a crescent moon pierced by chains – is placed on the back of his coat.

Organization Robes
Margrave no longer wears these. Where his robes are is a mystery, but all that is known is that he no longer wears these robes. Margrave wore black fabrics beneath his Organization robes, as per the Organization's systems. The cloak itself is black, created from heavy composite fabrics, and hung down to just above his ankles. The hood of his robes is expansive, which allowed him to fully obscure the upper half of his visage if he was so inclined. The cloak includes strings below the hood in order to adjust the tightness of the hood.

The sleeves of his robes are fairly loose and reach down one inch short than his extended hand. He wore standard black gloves, and specific boots, which are essentially black, steel-toed, leather combat boots.

Personality
Margrave has become insensitive to the problems and issues of all around him. If his task benefits him, he is likely to carry it out, regardless of opposition. However, following an unnerving encounter with his mother's ghost, his selfish desire for vengeance has begun to abate, and he has began to wonder if his actions would actually be able to please Avoren at all.

As a child, Margrave was quiet and mostly refrained from socializing with others. He was cooperative in his adolescent age when studying in Dalaran, but still kept mostly to himself.

Ability
Margrave's ability has ranged greatly over the years, having gone from lacking in notability to becoming considerably powerful. When serving the Senate, Margrave's skill in magic was confined to the levels of ordinary magi due to the restrictions placed on magic. However, after working with and perfecting his skill in Lightning magic to the point that he has made it into a primary school of magic for himself, he holds a large advantage against virtually any target.

His skill in Lightning is far from trivial, allowing him to strike a target with the speed of natural lightning and with magical force that could leave a warded archmage stunned. It is plausible to assume the only individuals capable of taking Margrave in a fight would be those with understanding of the magic he uses or those with a means to sustain the heavy damage naturally dealt by Lightning. These, however, are few in a world inhabited by those who wear metal for protection or confine themselves to lesser forms of magic.

History
"It's such a sad thing to happen to a child. He hardly even knew his own mother."

Margrave Haifrall was born on April 10, 584 K.C. to Count Oliver Haifrall and Lady Carina Haifrall. He did not know his mother for long; she was soon accused and found guilty of using evil Warlock magic, only to be executed on the orders of the Count himself. The moment was forever imprinted upon Margrave's mind as he bore witness to the first moment of magical limitation of his life. The four year old child did not understand the necessity of the execution, and soon came to bear hatred towards his father.

The populace of Malderoch saw the execution as a necessity in the heat of their fear and anger. However, after the task was done, many recognized Margrave's sudden lack of a mother. As a response to hopefully ease the pain, the people began behaving with sympathy for the boy in mind. Margrave paid little mind to it, only saddened by his mother's death and angered by his father.

Oliver, too, realized the effects of what he had done. He attempted to mend his relationship with Malderoch by spending frequent time with his son, but the damage was done, and Oliver's efforts were futile.

Margrave began training magic, as normally expected of the family, under the tutelage of one of the archmagi of Malderoch. He and his brother, Merandar Haifrall, lived together in Castle Malderoch for several years before both were sent to the city of Dalaran to learn magic under the Kirin Tor. Both Margrave and Merandar were accepted into the Kirin Tor as apprentices to different masters. Margrave easily excelled in magic, surpassing his cousin and going beyond his apprentice rank to become an Arcanist for himself. By the time he had become an Archmage of Dalaran, he decided to study abroad and see what the kingdom of Stormwind had to offer in terms of magic, as well as the Dwarven city of Ironforge. As he studied in the two cities, news reached him that Dalaran had fallen. Angered by the rumor of a massive force of undead destroying the magical city, all while he had seemingly abandoned his city, he studied vigorously in an intent to attain the power to assist in countering the Scourge.

Despite his aspirations, Margrave was not certain he had the power he need, even as movements such as the Argent Dawn began to fight the Scourge. He knew that forces such as the Scourge in the dreaded necropolis, Naxxramas, were far more powerful than mere skeletons and ghouls. He continued studying, not aware of whether or not he was fit to battle or not. He soon missed his chance to fight the Scourge when Naxxramas fell and was soon relocated to Northrend. However, the alien race of the Draenei had arrived, and Margrave decided to make use of the Draenei's knowledge.

Years had passed since the end of the Third War, and Margrave learned that his people, the original denizens of Surcreal, were hiding beneath the Malderoch Cathedral to outlast the threat of the Scourge. With them was Margrave's father, Oliver, whom Margrave still continued to hate all these years. Wanting to meet his father again, he visited Oliver beneath the Cathedral.

Upon meeting, Oliver, old with age, happily welcomed his son. Margrave, however, could not forgive Oliver, and accused him of many crimes. Margrave admitted his hatred for Oliver and labelled him as a traitor to his own people and family. Margrave stated that he intended to abandon his father, just as his mother would've abandoned him, and left.

After leaving Malderoch and the region of Alterac, Margrave realized that the ruins of Dalaran were gone, leaving a massive crater in its place. Numerous Kirin Tor magi were gathered, maintaining some form of shield over the crater. Margrave knew the spells being cast were complex and did not bother the magi, but instead turned to one of the magi that seemed to be taking a reprieve from their task, and inquired as to what had happened.

The mage responded that Dalaran had been moved into the sky and northward to Northrend to combat the Scourge threat once more, but doing so exposed the ley lines beneath and the raw magic was being released. Margrave paid no heed to the mention of the "raw magic", focusing instead on Dalaran's revival before gathering information on how to reach Dalaran, and soon found himself upon the floating city.

Margrave was enthused by this new chance to combat the Scourge and redeem himself in the eyes of the Kirin Tor. His hopes were stymied, however, as he proposed the use of a magic now forbidden among the Kirin Tor. When this was explained to him, Margrave held disbelief towards the fact, but reluctantly accepted this new limitation and worked with what was acceptable in battling the Scourge and fighting in the Nexus War.

Margrave ventured to Pandaria after its discovery, to learn about the Pandaren and the magics to be found on the foreign continent. After hearing of a "purge" in Dalaran, Margrave rushed home with the worry that something happened to the Kirin Tor. As he arrived in the city, rushing to the Violet Citadel, he passed a Sunreaver mage, one that nodded towards Margrave for unknown reasons.

Margrave soon came to find that the Sunreavers had betrayed the Kirin Tor by using Dalaran as a station to convey a dangerous Mogu artifact to Orgrimmar for Warchief Hellscream. When Margrave was asked about whether or not he had seen any escaping Sunreavers on his way, he instinctively declined, but wondered if he had failed Dalaran yet again.

Margrave was even more surprised to find that Dalaran was now involved in the coming siege of Orgrimmar, the Orcish warrior city of the Horde. He had no idea when the Council of Six had made this decision, and felt the need to be in the know for most of the decisions of the city, and turned to joining the Magus Senate of Dalaran.

During his interview to join, Margrave considered the possibilities to be had in joining. If everything were to go in the right direction, he could try to sway the Senate into considering the legalization of "forbidden magic" and also reconsider its place in Azeroth.

Service in the Senate
"May Dalaran hold dominion in all things."

Around the time of joining the Senate, Margrave was eventually brought in to certain events in which chronomantic rifts opened in the current timeline, resulting in alternate versions of the senate members. As he encountered various members, Margrave developed an interest in the extent of chronomancy and its abilities. At the same time, he searched through the records of the Kirin Tor to find a missing member; Lucien Hale. Margrave became interested, continuing the search long abandoned, and has been working towards finding the missing mage. Despite his extensive research, Margrave could find no traces to the whereabouts of Lucien. Frustrated, he resigned himself to observing his colleagues as he formulated new ideas; however, Margrave soon learned of the whereabouts of Avoren by use of mana signatures, and found that it was in Quel'thalas, to which Margrave ventured. However, he was encountered by a different face; Sanaeron Sanguire, a criminal of the Kirin Tor. Margrave prepared to battle him, but Sanaeron ceased combat, and proceeded to reveal the "truth" of the Kirin Tor: The Six only sought to limit its followers to control supreme power over magic. Margrave contemplated upon this thought to a great extent.

A New Heading
See Assassination of Sanaeron Sanguire for story form of the event.

Margrave pieced the evidence together and found it sound, but was not so certain that the Kirin Tor was truly a conspiracy of an organization. He gained access to the history, through the Great Codex, of Sanaeron in the Kirin Tor, and found that the Sin'dorei had practiced illegal blood magic and killed several fellow magi. Having found the truth, Haifrall decided to remove Sanaeron and his lies from his mind.

Margrave ventured to Quel'thalas once again, this time with the intent to kill. He met with Halorast Solflame, a Sin'dorei mage with a similar desire. The two hunted down Sanaeron in the night of Silvermoon, and they both murdered him in a battle. Margrave and Halorast left the scene and returned their respective domains. Aterwards, they both sought out the paladin Allose Dalton for a new heading. The government of Silvermoon was liable to hunt down Halorast, and Margrave was not the most trusting of the Senate at the moment.

He and Halorast were soon directed to the Death Knight companion of Allose, Nierro, who ran an organization dedicated to the collection of powerful artifacts. Believing this to be an ideal place for himself, Halorast joined the Organization, and Haifrall did so as well.

Dark Resurgence
See Dark Resurgence for coinciding history.

''"I will not tolerate your ignorance anymore." ''- Haifrall to Oliviaxi Shadesong.

Despite having been the one to kill Sanaeron, the words of the late Sin'dorei continued to reverberate within Margrave's mind. Combined with his already existing doubt for the Magus Senate, this only bred frustration.

While wandering among the Eastern Plaguelands for unknown reasons, Haifrall discovered a suspicious Orc, and proceeded to attack the Orc, after which he called upon the Senate to meet with the stranger. The Orc was revealed to be known only as "Karg", and pleaded innocence as a hermit. Eventually, to Margrave's distaste, Karg was brought to the Argent Crusade to be sent to the Earthen Ring. Haifrall left the Senate (not resignation, mind you, just left them in the area), losing his confidence in his colleagues.

After abandoning his Senate comrades in the Eastern Plaguelands while killing cultists, Margrave's comrades went to search for him. While he returned to Dalaran, one man died and three others were severely injured, all in trying to find him. Returning to Dalaran, the Senate discussed the matter with him, to which he responded with little care. Numerous allies threatened him, including Oliviaxi Shadesong and Aithnea Escol, the latter being a High Magister of the Senate.

Oliviaxi, not taking too well to the death of Deloria Ravenshire, a comrade of the Senate, threatened Haifrall to never abandon his comrades to die again. She swore that if Haifrall did, she would kill him then and there. Haifrall gave no response, only meeting her rage with a glare. Nathul Furlbrow, Vanidicus Alexander, Muzula Silverweave, and Aithnea all worked to settle the rising conflict.

Margrave, however, made things worse. He disappeared from the scene, to the anger of Aithnea, and he responded with, once again, little care. He paid no heed to the demands of his officers, defying and disrespecting them without any apology or hesitation. He proceeded to insult Oliviaxi even further, resulting in rage from the latter and the disappearance of the former as Margrave took a vacation from Dalaran.

During his vacation, Margrave returned to his old home, Malderoch. There, he began studying and practicing magic in private, away from the Senate as he held wards over the Castle to ensure the Senate would not detect him there.

As he worked alone for the next few days, Margrave encountered an acolyte of a mage by the name of Nicolas Remond, and learned that the student had no teacher. Deciding it best to teach his own ideals to another, Margrave offered Nicolas a place as the former's apprentice, and the student accepted, becoming Margrave's first, albeit unofficial, apprentice.

Doubt and Suspicion
''"Be careful, Mr. Haifrall, that you don't end up alone." ''- Meriahm Lausten to Margrave.

As Margrave stood in Dalaran by himself, Muzula decided to pay a "friendly" visit. Conflict broke out as Margrave drew a sword against Muzula's cane. Haifrall fought with magic and steel in an effort to kill the gnome, despite the latter's intentions. The battle was intense, until Muzula grabbed Margrave through a levitation spell, and threatened Haifrall just as Oliviaxi had.

Before Margrave's very eyes, the entire Senate had turned against him. Nobody trusted his intentions and everyone hated his words. He had earned the ire of possibly five to six officers, and two death threats. Margrave, frustrated, left once again. The fact that the Senate had turned so quickly on him, without even the slightest of qualms or concerns for him, resulted in a drastic change in his personality, one of disdain and even hatred for several of the senators.

One mage of the Senate, Mab Nimue, contacted Margrave to determine if all was well. Mab had a history of being "unnaturally kind" as Margrave had put it, and seemed to hold genuine friendliness and concern for all members of the Senate, novice or veteran. Margrave was not as dismissive towards Mab, but he found that he did not want to speak to another mage of Dalaran for a relatively long while. He gave a quick report of the matter before closing the discussion quickly, and returning to his own devices.

Eventually, the combined company of the Magus Senate and the First Regiment was sent to the Plaguelands once again to investigate the activities of certain cultists. When a giant abomination appeared, a battle was held to kill the monster before Margrave stepped forward. Taking this chance to relieve himself slightly, he poured his anger into the murder of the construct, burning it alive despite its incoherent screaming. He continued this action until he had more or less exhausted himself, and told the Senate that he was returning to the tower before heading back to Dalaran, though not without a snide remark to Oliviaxi Shadesong, who diligently ignored Margrave.

After returning to the tower and covering some things, Margrave was approached by the mage-commander, Vanidicus Alexander. Vanidicus was well aware of the recent rivalries between Margrave and certain other senators, along with the past discussion. Vanidicus commended Margrave on his work and suggested that he should trust his comrades, and they would trust him in return. Margrave didn't argue, as he nodded to agree with Vanidicus' logic. However, trusting the Senate didn't seem to be in his best interests.

After the grievous events taking place on September 5th, Margrave appeared to question the apparent injuries of the Senate. Muzula, coincidentally, showed up at the same time and assumed Margrave to be responsible. The situation escalated to the point of yet another duel, this one ending prematurely as a Kaldorei priestess stopped the battle. However, Muzula had had enough, and challenged Margrave to an appropriate honor duel for the next day.

Margrave, however, remained unconvinced of any effect the honor duel would have, and the two agreed upon a duel to the death, to the great dislike of the Magus Senate. The two battled for a long time, each with the strategic attempt to kill, before both collapsed from exhaustion.

A week or two later, Muzula returned to Margrave with renewed fury and rage after the loss of her research facilities and workers, and blamed the issue on Margrave. She attempted to kill him before the two were prevented from battle by Vanidicus Alexander. The two were brought to the Underbelly's arena to battle an honor duel. Margrave, however, declined the duel. The matter was decided to be taken to the Dalaran Courthouse on Sunday, October 5, 624 K.C. In preparation for the worst, Margrave directed his apprentice, Nicolas Remond, to observe Muzula and her actions to understand where she travelled and what she did on her spare time. Margrave soon learned of a vital detail; Muzula's apprentice, Darrick Delmont. According to Remond, Darrick was a child often cared for by Muzula, almost like a mother to a son. In preparation for the trial, Margrave gathered what resources he could to support his case while Nicolas analyzed the schedule of Muzula and Darrick.

The pressure of his colleagues, however, was becoming too much for Margrave. He paced in the Purple Parlor, alone, as he voiced his thoughts aloud, accusing the Senate of foolishness and an inability to function. Margrave continued to talk to himself before a couple magi entered the room with him, and he silenced himself with the barest of acknowledgements to the magi. As soon as he got the chance, he retreated to Malderoch once again, to contemplate in silence.

The day of the trial soon came, and the politics were carried out. As Margrave observed, Muzula presented her evidence with ease, damning Margrave at each point. When asked if he had anything to say in response, he elected not to say anything in defense. Though the evidence provided was circumstantial at best, he was through with the Senate, and he had devised a plan to escape in case he was found guilty. Very soon, the jury deemed Margrave to be guilty of his crimes, and was sentenced to life in the Violet Hold for treason against the Kirin Tor.

Margrave was sent on his way to the Violet Hold under close escort before stopping at the threshold of the prison. He staged a prepared plan in which he detonated an Arcane blast, stunning the Senate as he summoned a young boy to his side, Darrick Delmont. Margrave held Misfortune to Darrick's throat as a portal opened behind him and the two entered.

As the Senate was thrown into disarray in trying to locate Margrave, the latter used his escape to form a chronomantic rift, taking him and Darrick through to an alternate timeline, specifically to the Hillsbrad Foothills prior to the Third War. The Senate sent a strike team to pursue, battling and injuring Margrave before he blinded the Senate and ran. Assuming Margrave to have no allies in the timeline that would assist him, the Senate left him in the timeline and marked him as a traitor to the Kirin Tor, his people, and the world.

Margrave, however, was far from defeated. By calling off the hunt, he was free to do as he wished, and he aimed first to prevent what had always vexed him; the corruption of Lucien Hale.

Timelines Gone Awry
As Margrave did his work in the alternate timeline he now resided in, he deemed it best to prepare for the inevitable assault of his Empire. He used chronomancy once again to return to his original timeline, this time in the Blasted Lands. He was surprised to find that an army of Orcs was storming its way through the Dark Portal itself. As Margrave silently observed, seated upon an overlooking hill, he was approached by a certain figure; an Orc that Margrave recognized as Karg. Though Margrave was prepared to kill the Orc, Karg simply sat down beside Margrave, chatting with him. Karg brought up discussion about how interesting chronomancy truly was, how anyone could change anything they didn't like in history through such magic. Margrave hesitantly agreed, but soon demanded as to why Karg had come before him, or even to the Blasted Lands to begin with.

Karg shrugged, stating that he did not truly know why he came, stating simply that it "must've been his destiny" to venture out to the Iron Horde's attack. However, Karg chuckled and stated that the Iron Horde was rather foolish and impractical, stating that the methods of invasion were flawed and too straightfoward. Margrave thought the words over, remembering his own army that he was building in an alternate timeline from now. This Iron Horde was very similar, but flawed. Margrave chewed upon the thought of improving his own army's standards compared to this new Horde as he called upon his apprentice, Nicolas Remond, explaining the future plan before opening a temporal rift once again to the Empire's timeline, and returned to his work, leaving the forces of the Iron Horde to continue its assault. He was amused by the fact that this was obviously the army the alternates had feared, and his only worry was that these Orcs might destroy Dalaran before him.

After returning to his alternate timeline, he pondered the sight of the Iron Horde's invasion to a great extent. He connected the matter to the escape of Garrosh Hellscream, the Orc having escaped his own trial and disappearing without a trace. He wondered what drove himself to do something so similar to the Orc, and reminded himself that Garrosh was operating out of blindness towards a master race. Margrave was simply "purging" idiocy from Dalaran, for lack of a better word.

As he pondered this, he felt anger and hatred towards not just Dalaran, but now the entirety of the Alliance, for allowing the Horde to exist. In their incompetence they allowed Orcs to escape, build a civilization, and ultimately become a rivaling power in the world. It was bad enough to have the ridiculous laws of magic; it was another thing entirely to be bound by such a pitiful and weak minded Alliance. Margrave's thoughts expanded beyond war on Dalaran to war on all of Azeroth. It had become evident that the Alliance was incapable of operating properly, and the Horde did not deserve to exist.

Margrave, despite his intentions, seemed to ignore the blatantly obvious fact that he desired world domination. He only came before Emperor Söcretha to convince the emperor of destroying all opposing factions in the original timeline entirely, thus removing any reason for resistance. However, the goal of invading the original timeline was to collect artifacts, not wage war unnecessarily, and Söcretha dismissed the plan as ridiculous and absurd. Offended by the dismissal, Margrave left, and returned to his own dwelling to ponder his plans further.

Alone Once Again
"Avoren spent years compiling his legacy, and you've torn it apart within months. I see now how much I've misjudged you."

While his former allies within the Senate were preoccupied with battling the Iron Horde, and the rest of the world focused on the current issues, Margrave returned to the original timeline with a Dragon-class gunship, prepared to destroy Dalaran under his own standards. The ship appeared above Crystalsong, where Dalaran once was. Margrave remembered that the Crystalsong Forest was home also to the training grounds of many battlemagi in Dalaran, and prepared a course to the grounds in order to obliterate it with the power of the ship's main gun. Sensing his presence, Margrave's apprentice, Nicolas, arrived to observe.

However, he was not unopposed. A certain individual arrived immediately to investigate, along with his own share of allies, an individual Margrave did not expect to meet. For twenty years the two never saw each other, and yet Margrave's brother, Merandar, was now before him, standing against Margrave's efforts. Not wanting to fight his brother, Margrave offered Merandar a place in the Dalaranian Empire, and a chance to rule alongside the Emperor while the lesser people of the Horde and Alliance would be crushed.

Merandar promptly declined, stating that Margrave's actions were no better than the one behind the arrival of the Iron Horde. Having already associated the Iron Horde with the Orcish tyrant that was Garrosh Hellscream, Margrave was enraged by the comparison. In response, he extended his hand, crackling with lightning, and struck out.

Once again, another came to oppose him, one that could only wound Margrave further. Halorast Solflame, Margrave's partner in the assasinationn of Sanaeron Sanguire, had come to stop his former accomplice as well. Halorast only saw the actions of the treacherous Lucien Hale within Margrave, and stated that Margrave had only torn the legacy of Avoren apart. The three magi were each bristling with anger, each one poised to strike.

Focused on Margrave, Merandar was not prepared for the attack of the former's apprentice. The man fought with a fighting style unlike anything he had ever seen, using the distinct blade of a chokutō as he wielded martial prowess as well as he used magical abilities. The battle took Merandar away from the ensuing conflict with Margrave.

Halorast, however, stayed focused on his old comrade. Margrave had something that Halorast needed; the Book of Avoren, the legacy of Avoren Söcretha, originally entrusted to Halorast before Halorast entrusted it to Margrave. Seeing the misuse of the Book's knowledge, however, Halorast had determined the necessity to reclaim the artifact. After exchanging harsh words, Halorast struck first.

The attack was laced with Halorast's fury and anger towards the betrayal of Margrave. The latter warded himself against the attack, but was shaken from the strength of Halorast's magic. He retaliated with lightning, and though Halorast managed to deflect the spell, Margrave immediately struck out with Misfortune, empowered with lightning as he attacked. To Margrave's surprise, Halorast drew his own weapon, and expertly countered the attack. Taking the close combat into his advantage, Margrave generated an orb of Arcane magic, pressing it against Halorast's abdomen and detonating it, sending the Sin'dorei flying back.

Halorast quickly recovered, and summoned a massive Pyroblast that flew towards Margrave. The latter channeled the spell absorbing properties of his blade, and absorbed the Pyroblast, only for a second one to come his way. Immediately, Margrave raised a wall of Arcane magic, which outlasted the effects of the attack. In response, Margrave summoned a stream of lightning to strike Halorast, who had used a channeled spell of fire to attack at the same time. The two battled with their magical power for some time before Merandar suddenly intervened, swinging a fist for Margrave's face. The rogue mage broke the stream for a moment and repelled Merandar.

Margrave withdrew the Book of Avoren to use a powerful spell, but at the moment, Halorast struck once more. Margrave was not the only one capable of using lightning, and he was struck by Halorast before Merandar kicked him in the chest, sending him sprawling and gasping in pain, as the Book of Avoren flew from his hands.

Margrave got himself up, and looked around to find that his apprentice, Nicolas, was gone, pushed off the ship by Merandar. The crew of the Dragon-class had been defeated, now replaced by Merandar's allies. Margrave swore in frustration at his unexpected failure, and desperately teleported himself to his other domain, in Malderoch.

Upon arrival, he was met with the Emperor he himself had chosen, Avoren Söcretha. The Emperor was severely disappointed with Margrave's failure, who was dismissive to the matter and accused Avoren of not assisting Margrave in "obtaining for him his vengeance". Avoren laughed, mocking Margrave as the latter, in his anger and frustration, dismissed the Emperor and his own loyalty to the Empire he helped create. Avoren decided that an "uncooperative element" shouldn't be left to be free and had a pair of spellbreakers arrive to detain Margrave. However, using knowledge from the Book of Avoren, Margrave escaped the Anti-Magic of the Spellbreakers and teleported away, to the wonder of Avoren, and eventually became wanted by the Dalaranian Empire as well.

Margrave had, in fact, teleported to the secret headquarters of his organization. Seeing as he had no reason to continue serving the organization, he removed his robes that marked him as a member, quietly leaving them folded to return to Nierro as he left, disappearing once again.

Reformation (624 K.C.)
''"I'm not inclined to kill off a hundred of soldiers, my elven friend. I only intend to find one Halorast Solflame." ''- Margrave explaining his motives to Aerolon Lightarrow.

Margrave, alone in Azeroth, began a relentless search for Halorast and the Book of Avoren. His goal was now to resurrect the original Avoren, and bring down Dalaran himself. Still, he needed the Book, and the first step to those ends was hunting down the Sin'dorei mage.

Margrave approached the Thalassian Pass, just as he did in a time that seemed to be so long ago in the past. He had come here to meet with Halorast, to conspire in the murder of Sanaeron Sanguire, and to forge a lasting alliance. How foolish it seemed now, as he walked towards the gate.

Immediately, he was met by the guardians of the Pass, as well as their current leader, Aerolon Lightarrow. The guardians, who were soon revealed to be the Centuria, called Margrave out with their knowledge of his new status: a criminal. Though he was not wanted by Silvermoon, he was still an enemy of it, and was not welcome in Quel'thalas.

Dismissive of the Centuria, Margrave extended a hand that let out a shockwave, repelling the Centuria's ground forces. The military group sprung into action as Aerolon gave orders to the magi to take Margrave down. He warded himself against their spells, blasting one mage with overwhelming fire as he summoned a pair of mirror images to take down the other three. Immediately, the physical assault began with the Centuria's footsoldiers striking out against Margrave. He used his teleportation and other various magical abilities to mostly avoid harm as his mirror images prioritized the magi. Aerolon fired an arrow linked to an explosive, only for Margrave to teleport forward towards Aerolon. The explosive detonated near the Centuria, but the soldiers were, fortunately, mostly unharmed.

Margrave teleported to Aerolon, and fought with the elf. Aerolon swung a hidden boot-dagger, but Margrave dodged and disarmed the elf, before kicking him to the ground and quickly moving towards the gate. He summoned a massive fireball to destroy the gate, successful blasting it open as he entered the Pass. He summoned a wall of Arcane energy in place of the original gate, barring the Centuria from their own domain as the magi were still preoccupied with the mirror images. Margrave searched through the Pass's rooms and domains as the Centuria attempted to break their way in. He noticed a prisoner of interest; the goblin known as Frakks Rocketshot, imprisoned after the War of Bloodied Iron. Frakks immediately pleaded for Margrave's assistance, though the rogue mage was notably dismissive. However, after bringing up the fact that he knew about the design of the Dual Proxy Engine, Margrave was interested, considering that no one knew about the DPE aside from Margrave, Avoren, and whoever else Avoren permitted. Curious, Margrave agreed to assist Frakks momentarily, destroying the cells of Frakks and his followers before opening a portal to an unknown location. Frakks and his goblins entered the portal, which closed for Margrave to return to his search.

However, the conversation with Frakks had given the Centuria all of the time it needed to break down the wall of Arcane magic, and Aerolon asked about what Margrave was doing. The rogue mage simply asked for where Halorast Solflame was, and was dismayed to find that Halorast had fled Quel'thalas as a criminal after the assassination of Sanaeron. Margrave mused about how much of a crime it truly was to have killed Sanaeron, and when asked about the incident, Margrave confessed to being responsible for the murder of the treacherous politician alongside Halorast. Though the Centuria was now wary of Margrave's ability and awaited the full order of Aerolon, Margrave ignored their hostility and asked about where Halorast could be found.

Aerolon informed Margrave that Halorast's location was unknown, as he had disappeared without any notice, and could be anywhere in the world. Halorast's brother and the original leader of the Centuria, Raitaus Solflame, had left his station temporarily to track down his criminal of a brother. Margrave stated that it was a shame to have wasted his time on the Centuria, and stated that he simply needed to track down Raitaus next before teleporting away from the Pass.

Margrave's actions at the Pass were immediately reported to Silvermoon. While Margrave was originally only a traitor of the Kirin Tor and the Alliance, the rogue mage had committed an act of aggression towards Silvermoon with the means of capturing or even killing one of its important individuals. The news of the action spread to the Horde itself. Margrave's hatred for the Horde was already well known, and it was very possible he would strike out against the rest of the Horde's members. He was listed as a criminal against the Horde, as well as he was already a criminal against the Alliance, marking him an internationally wanted criminal.

Margrave emerged in the location where he had sent Frakks and his goblins, in a large room of stone walls within Castle Malderoch. Margrave looked to Frakks and began questioning him as to how he knew of the DPE. Frakks replied that he had been paid years ago with the schematics of the DPE by Avoren Söcretha to create a special domain to practice and experiment. Margrave, interested by the story, asked if Frakks would be interested in helping revive Avoren. Frakks was skeptical, and decided to strike a bargain; if Margrave could gather all of the members of Rocketshot Company back under one name, then Frakks would help the rogue mage out however needed.

Margrave wanted the knowledge or schematics of the DPE system from Frakks, so he agreed to assist in this favor as the Rocketshot goblins hid away in the castle. Margrave set out to carry out his errands, but he had some unsettled business to finish first.

It felt like it had been a long time since Margrave had been in Dalaran, and he knew he had to keep a low profile as long as he was here. He managed to subtly distort his magical aura, so that he wouldn't be able to be immediately detected as he made his way for the home of his nemesis, Muzula Silverweave. From what he knew, basing on the information his missing apprentice provided, Muzula resided within her own domain of Silverweave Spire in the city of Dalaran. Margrave cloaked himself in invisibility as he moved hastily towards the Spire's location.

He dropped his cloaking as he reached the Spire. Entering was simple enough; a simple lock was all that barred his way, which he simply got past by conjuring water within the lock as a mold, freezing the water, and using the resulting ice as a key. The makeshift key worked as well as an original key would, and would raise no suspicion as he entered.

Upon entry, Margrave was not confronted by anything. However, as he made his way through the Spire, he eventually reached what seemed to be the entrance to a vault of sorts, and presumably where Margrave's prize was contained. Within the room that he stood, about six large constructs of metal stood, vigilant yet lifeless.

As Margrave moved toward the door to the vault, two of the constructs came alive, and began moving towards Margrave. As the golems closed in around him, he teleported back to where he originally entered, observing the golems closely. He had no idea what metal these things were crafted from, but he assumed it was nothing like Obsidian. Considering the fact that metal could be melted down, he summoned a large Pyroblast  and hurled it at one of the golems, and observed its effect.

Despite his expectations, the attacked golem simply emerged from the smoke, unscathed, and grabbed Margrave in both hands with crushing strength. Against the strength, Margrave drew Misfortune, glowing with charged lightning as he did another test, and stabbed the shoulder of the golem. Surprisingly enough, the blade pierced the metallic shoulder, and Margrave teleported out of the golem's grip to a farther location to take a moment and understand the situation.

Seeing as his sword – normally incapable of piercing metal by itself – managed to injure the golem while charged with lightning, Margrave came to the conclusion that lightning was one of the weaknesses of the golems. He decided to test the hypothesis again as he decided to test his newer spell in lightning manipulation, summoning a massive of mana that began to escalate into an immense orb of lightning.

With the golems standing before the gate, unmoving in their duty, Margrave was free to prepare his attack. Finally, he had enough to strike, and lashed out as the lightning extended into a Lightning Whip, reaching out and around the injured golem, soon binding it. Meeting Margrave's expectations, the lightning rippled across the entire body of the golem, incapacitating it. Margrave rushed forward, dodging the second golem's attack as he grabbed Misfortune, charged once again, and swung it towards the golem's head. The head came off, and Margrave removed the whip, allowing the golem to fall lifeless to the floor.

The other golems soon awoke, but Margrave knew their weakness now. He summoned a controlled storm above the golems, soon striking each one with heavy jolts of lightning. The golems were all incapacitated, falling to the floor, useless after the damage they took. Margrave was free from the threat, though he noticed that his tested spell cost a substantial amount of mana. He moved towards the vault and looked it over.

It was obvious that wards existed to protect the vault. It was simply a matter of dispelling them. Focusing on his remaining mana, he used a portion to dispell the wards and then heat the protective entrance, melting it down to nothing. Margrave took care in entering as he searched for his prize, and soon found it: his old staff, claimed by the Magus Senate at the time of his defection. Pleased with his work, Margrave took his staff and returned to Malderoch with his spell, just as Kirin Tor guardians came to the entrance of the Spire to investigate an extreme use of magic atop the Spire. A recording crystal managed to record everything, however, evidence of Margrave's return.

After having claimed his staff once again, it was time to work on upholding the bargain with Frakks. His first priority was in Everlook, Winterspring, to find one Izzy Cogwrench. Margrave mused humorously over the fact that he was seemingly conspiring with goblins now, but paid it no mind as he ventured to Everlook.

He soon found Izzy in the goblin town, but after conversing for a moment with the young goblin girl, he was soon confronted by the guards of Everlook. Curious to the matter, Margrave inquired as to why he was being condemned now.

Interestingly enough (to Margrave), the word of his status as a criminal had officially reached the neutral Steamwheedle Cartel. Being so close to Orgrimmar as it was, Everlook's guards learned of Margrave's new status almost as soon as it was conveyed, and research into Margrave's background just painted him as an internationally wanted criminal for both the Alliance and Horde.

Margrave deliberately overlooked the matter, stating that he was assigned a task by Izzy's employer to return her to her rightful place. The leading guard responded that he already knew this much, stating that both Margrave and Izzy were criminals, and that this was the ideal time to grab both. Margrave laughed mockingly, replying that they should've grabbed Izzy before Margrave had arrived. As Margrave made casual gestures, he was subtly observing his surroundings, only to find that he had snipers trained on him, from four positions on the wall surrounding Everlook.

Margrave subtly created a ward to protect him from any sudden attack, and focused his mana to spawn four mirror images, one nearest to each sniper to take down the goblins. As the mirror images subtly dispatched the snipers, Margrave gave the leading goblin two options: allow Margrave and Izzy to leave peacefully, or he would destroy Everlook. Margrave had no intent of causing wanton destruction so early, but the threat was necessary.

The leader goblin gave the order to the snipers to fire, but was surprised to see that no response came. One of the snipers, who managed to somehow survive the attack on him, rushed Margrave from behind with a dagger. However, Margrave's mirror image - looking at the direction from which the sniper came - allowed Margrave to see the attack and feint out of the way, before kicking the goblin towards the leader and the gate of the town.

Margrave extended both hands, palms open as the goblins silently watched. His palms clenched, before opening again to reveal two orbs of fire. The leader called for cover and the guards hid as Margrave unleashed a sheet of flame from the two orbs. The fire melted the snow on the gate and left it mostly blackened, but the guards were unharmed. They moved to attack, but Margrave melted the snow beneath their feet, quickly creating water that froze the goblins in their tracks as Margrave and Izzy disappeared in a portal. Though the conjured ice melted and left the guards mostly unharmed, Margrave's presence raised some worry amongst people, and the most recent sighting was reported to the Horde and Alliance alike.

After briefly looking over Mudsprocket, Margrave began to make his way to Azshara, towards the Bilgewater Harbor. Along the way, he was met with a familiar face: Onovar, the huntsman of Margrave's former organization. Nierro, his former employer, wished to speak with the now reputable Margrave, to which the latter willingly accepted with a notable degree of neutral regard.

Upon arrival, Margrave took a stance most would be surprised by, approaching Nierro with a semblance of actual friendliness. The odd Death Knight seemed to respond in kind. Nierro was informing Margrave that he was concerned for his former subordinate becoming such a high-ranking criminal, and that if his ambitions should fail, Margrave should return to the organization. Margrave acknowledged this, and agreed to uphold his commitment to the organization as well his ambitions as he left.

A Very Unexpected Encounter
While the Rocketshot Company resided in Castle Malderoch, Margrave sat in on meetings with the present officers of the Company and decisions on what to do. Frakks proposed a number of possibilities, all of which entailed hostility toward other individuals and organizations, and even brought up consideration of continuing to steal from the earnings of Megabucks Trading Company. Margrave personally didn't care, but another goblin, Marusc Hotsteel, seemed less than inclined to support the coming actions.

Marusc had already had the trouble of being imprisoned for her support of the Iron Offensive. That support had marked her as a criminal for life. She wasn't going to make it again, especially not alongside the world's newest criminal, Margrave Haifrall. Quietly, after the meeting was closed, she left the Castle and tried to make a run for it, out of Malderoch and into the outer regions of Hillsbrad.

Margrave was approached by Frakks Rocketshot who, despite what Marusc thought, already caught on to the latter's disloyalty and said he "wanted" Margrave to take care of her. Though Margrave replied with a harsh and foreboding mention of him not being Frakks' employee, he went to see the task done. Marusc knew of Margrave's whereabouts, and he was not inclined to be inconvenienced more than he wanted.

Marusc had made it about a kilometer away from Malderoch, bundled against the cold as she walked through the snow. She could see Midinas far out in the distance, but wasn't about to get there anytime soon, especially not with Margrave suddenly appearing behind her through teleportation. Marusc was startled, but drew a knife in case she needed protection against the rogue mage. As she held the tool with her shaking hands, Margrave laughed at the gesture and simply said it would be wise to stay with the Company. He held out his hand, to take her own and guide her back to Malderoch.

Marusc put her knife away, but she admitted that she didn't want to be caught up in Frakks' ambitions anymore. She promised she wouldn't reveal anything about Margrave or the Company, that she would only take up her own life under a separate identity. She turned and walked away once again, to which Margrave narrowed his eyes.

Marusc continued to walk, but gasped as pain surged through her, and she felt the warm liquid of her own blood on her body. She looked down to find a lance of ice that had impaled her through the abdomen. Her knees buckled and she fell as her crimson blood warmed the snow around her, saturing her clothes as she fell face first into the white land. Neither of them said anything as Margrave left her to die, either to organ failure or to suffocation in the snow.

As Margrave returned to Malderoch, he passed by the public square of the city, where his mother had died, hanged by the law, and he saw the unbelievable. A bright, light-blue form, glowing next to an abandoned, snow covered stand. The form seemed feminine in nature, and leaned on the support of the stand.

Margrave approached the figure, and his eyes widened as he barely recognized the features of the figure. The features of the figures were identical to his mother, Carina Haifrall. Stunned for a moment, he soon found the will to rush forward, with the hopes of embracing his mother. Carina looked up to her eldest son with a look of despair that caused Margrave to pause. Carina smiled sadly to her son.

She commented on how much Margrave had grown, how handsome he appeared after all of the years, yet something dark troubled his soul and heart. Margrave was dismissive of these comments, asking only how his mother could appear here in this ghostly form. Carina responded that ghosts were typically formed when the dead could not rest properly, allowing the spirit to wander. Carina began to explain what had troubled her spirit so much.

After her death, Carina had been worried for Margrave and how he would take the event. She tried her best to watch over him in the afterlife, and could only sit silently in sorrow as she watched her son become the heartless person he was. At the characterization of his personality being a "twisted person with a broken heart", Margrave could only stare, his words gone as he tried to grasp what his mother had called him. Carina apologized for the errors she made in her past that inevitably led to this tragic encounter, and wished she could've prevented everything that had happened. Margrave, having made sense of her words, made no sign of response.

Carina took her chance. She began to plead to Margrave to turn off this course, to go back to his friends and comrades in the Magus Senate, to make amends for every damning action he had committed. At the mention of the Kirin Tor and the Senate, Margrave shook his head and gave his response:

"There is no need for that, mother. The Senate turned against me. Besides, what you call 'errors' have allowed me to see the world properly. I am now more powerful than the Senate and the Council of Six combined. I can overthrow them if I want. I can be fit to rule, and it's all because of you. I have, after all, been doing this all for you."

With those words, both Margrave and Carina were both silent before Margrave gave his parting farewell and left Carina standing alone. As she began to weep ghostly tears, she prayed as best as she could from the afterlife for something, anything, to save Margrave from his dark fate.

Opposition Arrives
Though Carina's words troubled him slightly, Margrave was certain that he could appease his mother in some way and remedy her worry. He had an idea of his goal now, at least at a basic level; gain the power he need to change the law of magic itself, to change the very law that had killed Carina. The intent to wage war on Azeroth had all but diminished since his return. All that mattered was his power.

Margrave decided he would take a moment's reprieve from tracking and collecting the members of the Rocketshot Company for a moment of rest and relaxation. He felt far too tense; his time in the Senate had only resulted in him becoming overly serious and dramatic, and he wanted to take just a little moment away from his regular business. He considered the ideal options for a "vacation" of sorts, and settled with someplace calm and quiet, such as an inn where he could casually read.

He recalled his first time arriving in Stormwind City, when he enjoyed reading by Crystal Lake just beyond Goldshire. Though it would certainly draw attention to guards and citizens, he overlooked this in his search for a method of relaxation in Elwynn. He traveled to Elwynn, and walked along the road to the lakeside nearest to the inn.

As one might expect, though, he was not unnoticed. While Elwynn remained naturally undisturbed, patrolling guards had noticed Margrave's now unmistakable face and had all reported it to Marshal Dughan in Goldshire. Not wanting to take chances, Dughan sent a quick message to Stormwind, hoping to catch Margrave without creating an unnecessary scene.

Margrave had settled down by the lake, resting on his back besides the lake as he took the time to enjoy his moment of relaxation. Such a moment felt soothing, the relaxation of his mind akin to the feeling of a strained body falling onto a soft bed. The relief was welcome to Margrave, so much so that he was tempted to sleep for even another moment.

However, he still knew in the back of his mind that he had no time for sleeping, especially not in what was now enemy territory, which soon became evident. Margrave sat up before standing, stretching as he looked around before he came under an unseen attack from behind, and was soon bound in magical chains of Arcane. The reinforcements Dughan had called for had arrived, consisting of presumably elite soldiers and magi. The team was surprisingly large, ranging from one to two dozen.

Margrave let out a sigh, stating that he was not in the inclination to fight. The leader, soon identified as Captain Peter Rogers, proclaimed that Margrave was under arrest and not free to leave, regardless of his inclinations. Raising an eyebrow, Margrave questioned as to why people would attack him with such zeal and paranoia, when he clearly wasn't doing any wrong. Rogers simply knew that Margrave would only commit wrong later, marking him as an obvious threat.

Eyeing over the chains, Margrave knew the spell well enough, as it was reflective of a rather basic spell among practitioners of the Arcane, one he had mastered many years ago. As a female mage approached to bind Margrave and teleport him to the Mage Tower of Stormwind, Margrave dispelled the chain as the mage came close. Free to move, he grabbed the mage by the throat and held her by the throat. Rogers' men began to move, but he ordered them to halt before giving two options to Margrave: surrender to life in prison, or die for opposition to the kingdom of Stormwind. In response, Margrave sent electricity through the mage's brain, killing her before he threw the lifeless body to Rogers.

This was the straw that broke the camel's back. Rogers immediately gave the order to strike as Margrave drew his sword, glowing already with lightning. As soldiers came, Margrave phased through their ranks before materializing before one soldier and cutting them down instantly with his blade. Caught off guard by Margrave's ability, the magi worked to form a boundary to trap Margrave as Rogers joined the fray. Captain Rogers was arguably the most skilled of the soldiers, actually forcing Margrave into a state of dodging, parrying, and backpedaling.

Margrave, however, took no issue with the continuous striking. Rogers became so focused on Margrave that he didn't notice the mirror image spawn behind him and run him through the abdomen before disappearing. Margrave kicked the wounded Rogers towards the rest of the soldiers as he repeated his Dragon's Flame to engulf the Stormwind enemies.

One of the magi broke off from forming the boundary to use the nearby water to raise a wall to counter the Dragon's Flame. Margrave broke off the fire to summon lightning instead, crackling across the water and electrocuting the mage, causing them to collapse, smoking and quite deceased.

The mage's fall caused the water to splash onto the Stormwind soldiers and Rogers alike. While the magi remained safe under their ward, the soldiers' plate armor was soaked in the liquid, and Margrave continued to summon lightning, spreading to all of the remaining physical fighters. Each one died, just as the electrocuted mage did.

The Stormwind magi finally struck out with their containment barrier, in an attempt to use an Anti-Magic Zone to contain Margrave's ability. Margrave, however, had studied well from the Book of Avoren, and knew how to counter anti-magic. The zone faded, before the stunned magi as Margrave prepared to annihilate the remaining forces.

Margrave, however, only narrowly dodged a newcomer's attack as a blade from seemingly nowhere barely cut the side of his face. He raised an eyebrow in interest and surprise as a Kaldorei female emerged from what seemed to be an invisibility spell of sorts. The sword she carried was, interestingly enough, on par with Margrave's own weapon, Misfortune. Intrigued, Margrave requested an identity.

The Kaldorei woman refused to give her identity to a criminal as she prepared a spell. Margrave cancelled the spell as it was forming and shrugged at her refusal, and beckoned her to strike. The Kaldorei took the chance and lashed out with her blade. Margrave parried every strike with repetition, though he noted that the woman had significant skill with a weapon. She also could fight well without a weapon, using kicks and punches expertly, which Margrave could only narrowly dodge.

Eventually, Margrave missed a chance to dodge and took a kick to the chest, sending him back into a tree as the Kaldorei braced herself for her next attack. Margrave soon recuperated, brushing himself off and applauding the woman for her efforts, before he began to teleport to another region. The Night Elf did a sudden and unthinkable action, charging Margrave as she spawned a portal behind him, and tackling him into the portal only as he began to disappear, causing his teleportation to fail.

The portal took Margrave and her to another region in Elwynn, near the river between the forest and Duskwood. The two sprang out of the portal and fell onto the grass. Margrave kicked the elf away before standing and looking at her to identify her. He soon laughed and remarked that he knew who the elf was, often referred to simply as "The Spectre" due to her station in the SI:7, but Margrave still knew her real name: Esa.

Esa was silent as Margrave jokingly mocked the Alliance and its "paranoia" in actively hunting him. The rogue mage casually insulted his former people, and asked why someone like Esa wasn't sent on the suicide mission for Draenor. To finish the insult, he remarked that, clearly, Esa lacked the skill to be worthy of the small-scale operation sent through the Portal. Keeping calm in the conversation, Esa remarked that there were others that still went through the Portal, to which Margrave brought up the Magus Senate of Dalaran and their apparent departure, and remarked that "the idiocy of the Senate has become clear if they sought to follow the 'heroes' of Azeroth on a mission reserved for 'heroes'."

Finally, Margrave casually decided to end the conversation and carry on the battle. He drew Misfortune once again, and beckoned Esa to strike. The Night Elf vanished as she moved to attack, but the magic of invisibility had no place in a battle against Margrave. The latter waited until he knew Esa was close before dispelling the illusion and lashing out with Misfortune. Esa dodged, but struck out again, only for Margrave to push her away with repelling magic.

Esa struck out with both of her magical swords, capable of sustaining damage from a charged Misfortune. Margrave managed to parry virtually every strike with seeming ease, before finally swinging out towards Esa in a manner forcing her to leap over Margrave. Her attempt to strike him again failed as Margrave spawned a mirror image behind Esa. The image attacked from behind, causing Esa to turn and face her copied foe. Once she dealt with the image, she turned around right into Margrave's blade.

The blade only cut into the side of her abdomen, but the searing lightning caused significant pain. Clutching her burned side, Esa knew she wouldn't be able to fight in her condition, and used a Hearthstone to escape to Stormwind. Margrave laughed at the retreat as he made for Booty Bay to find the next member of Rocketshot Company.

An Old Threat Returns
The next member of Rocketshot Company to be found was Kratz Pyroblast, a masked pyromaniac of a goblin that made a poor attempt to kill Margrave. Tired of goblins and not willing to put up with the attitude of Pyroblast, he ran the goblin through with Misfortune before carrying Kratz's lifeless body out of town and burning in to ashes.

Margrave began to return to Malderoch to inform Frakks Rocketshot of the unfortunate loss of the unnecessary addition that was Kratz Pyroblast. However, on his way, he was met by a mysterious figure only found in history textbooks.

Myril, a criminal of legend, had miraculously returned from the dead. He was clad in a high collared cloak of black, and a full head of black hair was all that hinted towards his identity as long as Myril's trademark mask covered the rest. The old criminal stated simply, in an arguably familiar voice, that he needed to speak to Margrave.

Margrave scoffed, doubtful of any credibility this new variation of Myril had, aware of how often frauds attempted to leech off of Myril's original fame. Wanting to test if this new Myril was of any worth, Margrave drew Misfortune. Myril responded in drawing the signature weapon that had belonged to Myril for so long.

Battle broke out between the two for a moment, with Margrave clearly having the upper hand, before he eventually called the fight to end. He noted that he recognized the fighting style being used, as well as the voice, and requested that Myril reveal his identity before Margrave was forced to guess it. Complying to the archmage's demand, Myril removed his mask for Margrave to see his identity.

What Margrave saw made him laugh. He didn't expect Myril to be who he truly was, and dismissed the battle. Before sheathing Misfortune, he requested to know what Myril had wanted in the first place. The truth was quite a surprise.

Myril was planning to recreate the Chained Reign. Using one of its last remaining members, Myril had the intent of recreating the Chained Reign, brought beyond its former glory and to wage a war on Azeroth that would shake its very foundations. Margrave was not interested in the fall of Azeroth at this point, or even Dalaran, only that Margrave got what he wanted. Ignoring the mention of the war, Margrave pondered what his mother had told him of his actions, and wondered as to where this would take him as well. Frustrated with the possibilities, Margrave just decided he would join for the time being. Having joined the Chained Reign's reformation, the first matter of business was the recruitment of new members.

Zanen
The first target to be nominated was by Margrave, a fairly well known criminal named Zanen. Zanen was ferocious and ruthless in his killings across the globe, and was virtually invincible in combat at the same time. It was deemed wise to bring Zanen into the fold, at least to help build the body of the organization.

Finding Zanen wasn't hard. He was settled in a small makeshift camp, with a tent and a campfire illuminating the night. The only issue was convincing the man. Margrave knew of Zanen's hostility and approached cautiously, but could barely get a word out before the man had grabbed his sword and began swinging. Margrave parried with Misfortune, but was forced back due to Zanen's ferocious nature of fighting.

As Margrave backed away, Zanen laughed and mocked Margrave's cowardice, to which the latter narrowed his eyes in annoyance. Margrave began a witty retort before Zanen went from laughing absurdly to striking ruthlessly. Margrave continued to parry every strike before repelling Zanen, only to have the man come to fight again. After breaking combat for a moment, Myril asked what drove the man to fight in such a manner in an amused tone.

Zanen simply replied that it was because he could before laughing as he attacked Margrave again. This time, Margrave moved behind Zanen, only for the latter to use what passed for his trump card. The blade's clasps unlocked, revealing a detachable blade connected by wire that whipped around Zanen and towards Margrave.

Margrave froze the blade in place, however, and demonstrated his own trump card to Zanen. The very sight managed to intimidate Zanen with wonder and surprise, and Margrave convinced the man that he would have no way to fight the rogue mage in his current state. Such a weapon that Zanen held was faulty, and his power was lesser in comparison to Margrave. However, Margrave promised alterations to the weapon while keeping its intended form and ability and improving Zanen's ability all for the cost of simply joining the Chained Reign.

More annoyed with Margrave than pleased by his proposal, Zanen quit the fight and said that he didn't care for the group. Margrave noted, however, that Zanen was a bloodthirsty killer and that if Margrave wasn't going to be caught anytime soon, then Zanen might be next on the target list. If Zanen worked alone, he was certain to be caught and executed; if he were to join the Chained Reign, he would be protected and his bloodlust would be channeled towards a greater purpose.

Reluctantly, Zanen agreed to join the Chained Reign, giving him a place within the Chained Reign as its third member. Myril asked if Margrave was really going to assist Zanen in any way, to which Margrave stated that he would.

Relationships
Muzula Silverweave - Margrave's nemesis, Muzula and Margrave share a mutual vendetta for each other. The two share a desire to kill the other, and have dueled several times now, all without success in their goals. After kidnapping Muzula's apprentice, Darrick Delmont, Muzula made a great attempt to kill Margrave, only to fail.

Oliviaxi Shadesong - A former colleague, Margrave hates Oliviaxi almost as much as he does Muzula. Having already received a death threat from the huntress, the relationship between the two is on edge.

Nicolas Remond - Margrave's apprentice, Margrave has begun reworking this young man into the ideal apprentice. Nicolas has become similar to Margrave in many ways, and has become twisted towards his views.

Halorast Solflame - An accomplice of Margrave, the two have worked well alongside each other on multiple occasions. However, after Margrave's subtle theft of the Book of Avoren and disappearance, Halorast has held dislike towards the human mage, leading him to battle Margrave for the Book.

Nierro Söcretha - The "boss" of Margrave, the mage answers to Nierro when it comes to covert missions not involving the Senate. Though Margrave left the organization, he is still notably loyal to its wellbeing.

Sanaeron Sanguire - A former criminal of the Kirin Tor, Margrave hated Sanaeron for weakening the Kirin Tor with his selfish ideals and murdered the Sin'dorei. Despite this, Sanaeron's words proved to be the most influential in Margrave's treachery - despite what Margrave might think.

Avoren Söcretha - The idol of Margrave, this mage was the inspiration for most of his ideals. Though Margrave has dismissed the prospects of an alternate Avoren, the original still seems appealing and useful to Margrave.

Possessions
Kirin Tor Robes - Standard robes of the Kirin Tor. Provide no obvious benefits. Have been somewhat seared. Kirin Tor tabard was burned away. These robes have long since been abandoned.

Organization Robes - Black hooded robes of Nierro's Organization.

Misfortune - Named for the "misfortune" it brings upon its foes, this sword has been a weapon in the Haifrall Line ever since the Troll Wars. A powerful sword meant for battle-magi, it can be used to channel magic or be empowered by it for devastating strikes. It is unknown as to how Margrave obtained the weapon.

Alternate History
In the alternate timeline in which the Iron Horde is victorious, Haifrall developed an interest in chronomancy that expanded into the practice of the magic. After an encounter with Sanaeron Sanguire, Haifrall abandoned the Kirin Tor, beginning to fully practice chronomancy and becoming proficient in the magic. Eventually, when the Iron Horde had become entrenched in Azeroth, Haifrall planned to visit a timeline in which he knew he was a member of the Kirin Tor, steal the Focusing Iris, and return to his timeline to seal the Portal and destroy the Iron Horde.

However, upon entering the other timeline, he was immediately met with the Magus Senate, and captured for questioning. He warned the Senate's mage-commander, Vanidicus Alexander, of the threat of the Iron Horde, saying, "Watch the Dark Portal," and was left in the prison; however, once the temporal rifts were sealed, the alternate version of Margrave disappeared.

Quotes

 * "I will not tolerate your ignorance anymore." - Margrave to Oliviaxi Shadesong.
 * "The Six limit magic because they're afraid. They lack the ability to control what they fear, and thus shelter themselves from it. What good is a government that fears the extent of power? What do simpletons like Karlain, Ansirem, and Jaina have to offer? What does the Senate have to offer? Nothing. We're restricting ourselves, all under the thumb of a 'senate' of fools."
 * "Why restrict magic? We're handicapping ourselves deliberately. Could Dalaran have become an empire? Yes. Can it, now? No, because we are so crippled by law that we cannot expand our knowledge and power beyond what we have. What the Senate fails to realize is that what we have will not suffice."
 * "You have it all wrong, Halorast. I'm not jeopardizing lives; I'm saving them from the ignorance that clouds the minds of so many. I'd rather not have you be the heroic recusant that I'm forced to remove."
 * "I see, Muzula must be off fighting the Iron Horde with the rest of those gullible fools. Come, my metallic friend, and let us wish the best for her most painful demise." - Margrave "conversing" with an elementium golem in Silverweave Spire, before it eventually attacks.

OOC Notes

 * Margrave is a descendant of Davar Haifrall, one of the Hundred.
 * Over time, Margrave has slowly begun to reflect his alternate self from the Tales of the Infinite.
 * Status as a "sorcerer" derived from my guild's definition on the guild's website.
 * Margrave has been dubbed as "Orc-Fucker" among the Magus Senate due to his Alteraci heritage.
 * I rarely use existing music as a "theme song", but this one is so damn fitting that I had to include it. So, here is Treachery from Bleach. Those who've read the story here would likely be able to recognize the relationship between the storyline and that track, aside from the obviousness of the title.

OOC Disclaimer (Please Read)
A large amount of the story listed here no longer occurs in character, just as his upcoming events will not, primarily due to my existing role-play partners being unable to work with me for the time being. For that reason, a large amount of this story can be acknowledged or ignored at the reader's discretion.