Hugo Cornelius Renfield

Hugo Cornelius Renfield is a Master Alchemist, hailing from Gilneas. He is a closet warlock and an open member of the Sarceline Mage Circle of The First Regiment. He is a wizard of his mage circle, a Sergeant in the King's army, and an invoker of the Black Harvest. As of April 1st 38 LC, he is now a citizen of Stormwind.

= History =

Childhood
He was born in Gilneas City, 33 years ago. He is a former resident of Stormglen Village outside of Gilneas. When he was a young lad, he dreamed of making a name for himself in Gilneas city. Thus, when he was 16 he moved away from the comforts of the Blackwald and went into the city. However, acquiring a job and maintaining it was quite difficult, especially with his analytical nature. Fortunately, his Master Cornelius Renfield the First adopted him from the streets and raised him as his own.

Cornelius Renfield taught the lad alchemy religiously. The boy was no natural to the arts, however. But, training under his Master was the best way for him to build a name for himself. As Hugo began to grow into a blooming young, Cornelius began to become very ill. He knew that his time was eventually going to be at an end, but at the cost of Hugo's own protection. But, Cornelius knew Hugo's worth and felt that he was ready to truly begin to master what it meant to serve. The strict old man began Hugo's intense magical training alongside even harsher and more unforgiving potion training. Each day was more brutal than the last, continuing even as his Master reached his deathbed.

Yet, when his Master died, a new sense of motivation filled Hugo. During his intense training, he was met with wonders and experiences he himself never thought possible. Thus, he wished to see and reach that which he couldn't see. This dream became his goal and life's purpose. However, there was only so much he could see behind the walls of Gilneas. If he was to make his dream come true, he would have to tear down those walls.

Rise to power
Eventually, Hugo mastered alchemy and found his way in the company of experimental warlocks. This new coven was not led by any masters. Rather, it was a group of men looking to learn more about the world in their limited environment. This coven produced experiments in fel and demonology. Hugo learned how to speak the demonic tongue through this coven and even became close friends with a valued acquintance named James Copperstein.

With Copperstein's help, Hugo eventually opened his own shop, a thriving alchemy and tonic department store in the center of GIlneas. With his new rise to prominence in society, Hugo eventually became wealthy enough to successfully court a noblewoman known as Alexandra Wellington, a sterile female who was once promised to another nobleman. However, as she could not bear children, the marriage was annulled. Hugo successfully courted and married her, despite resistance from her father. As a result, he was insulted on his wedding day when her father presented Hugo with a new sigil to represent his rise to power, a blue spider surrounded by the green of Gilneas.

Rebellion and fall
As time passed, the political climate in Gilneas began to grow more unstable. Although, he had favored Lord Darius Crowley's ideas, he did not fight at the Northgate rebellion. He did, however, provide alchemical aid to Crowley's men for the rebellion. His wife had betrayed him to the royal guards about his aid in the rebellion in order to better her own social situation--pressures from her family against Hugo convinced her that the marriage to a lower class man was not worth her risking her life as a rebel supporter. As a result, Hugo was captured by the Gilnean police force. Thus, he could either live out his days in a dungeon or reveal the names of his other conspirators, members of his own warlock coven. He gave away their names and sealed the fate of those he once called friend. He later snuck into their houses and reclaimed their wills with his underground connections in order to prevent the Gilnean government from seizing their works.

After Gilneas fell, he continued his research into the areas of the Kalimdor. He was tasked in updating the log of known flora and fauna and researching their practical uses.

He had encountered his wife again this time she had become a cultic vampyr. She had kidnapped him and his crew of Kaldorei researchers. One by one they had been sacrificed until it was time for Hugo to die. In a desperate effort to save himself he tapped into his inner wolf and broke out, unleashing arcane powers and the full magical abilities of his philosopher's stone. The last memory he had of that time was ending his former lover's life as he shed a tear. "'I was a supporter of Crownley's rebellion. You see I was born in Gilneas, raised in Gilneas, got married in Gilneas, studied in Gilneas. Eventually all I knew was Gilneas! But Crownley and men like him wanted to see the world. They could not stand being trapped behind those walls. I wanted to help and do everything I can to reach that which I cannot touch. Thus, in the shared lab with the other warlocks, I created several heavily potent potions to increase one's health and combat abilities. Unfortunately, not even my potions were enough and Crownley's rebellion fell. Through some means, Greymane's forces found my potions and offered my wife a lucrative deal: betray me and receive a higher status in society. We did not marry each other for a romantic relationship for she was infertile and could not give a son to any lord. But, I was a rising alchemist and my marriage to her let her hold onto her status of power. So, when the chance rose to rise through the ranks, she took it without a question. But as you can see, I am standing before you. I sold out the fellow warlocks so that I would not rot in prison. I would say the exchange to make potions for Greymane was not something I enjoyed, but at least my head is on its shoulders.I'm not a warlock anymore. I abandoned those practices and those tomes a while ago.I'm a complete mage now.I see a few of their names.Cowell, Smith, Ludwing, James, and......Thomas Copperstein was the main man who was betrayed.' - Hugo Cornelius Renfield"

= Personality = Hugo is a well-learned individual who derives curiosity from all things he does and doesn't know. At the same time, his mass amount of arcane magic sometimes makes it hard for him to take certain situations seriously and relies on antics that mainly humor himself. At the same time, he is able to recognize when a situation calls for a serious or jovial tone, depending on the seriousness of the threats that may or may not plague his allies.

When on the battlefield, he relies less on pure brawn and more on tactically analyzing every move to determine what actions would benefit him the most. At the same time, if he feels as if a threat is weak, he may opt to flex his 'muscles' and use more force than necessary, to the dismay of his peers.

= Appearance =

Human
Due to his military training, the Gilnean gentleman has developed a rugged and honed body. He has a thick short beard and amber eyes. As a wizard, he has his famous wizard hat equipped at all times when in his glorious Stormwind Uniform. When off duty, he wears his green robes around Stormwind and carries a tome that he can be seen writing in.

Worgen
As a worgen, he takes a different appearance. He has fierce red eyes and pure black fur. His hair is long and needs to be braided. Despite this, he is well groomed and has lush dark fur that is soft to the touch. He carriers himself with dignity and posture sort of like a show dog.

= Military Career = Hugo started of in The First Regiment as a simple and naive recruit. He was always curious and had a pension for asking thousands of questions to his superiors, but after two months of hard work he rose to the position of Private in the King's Army.

As a Private he was a Magus of the Mage Circle of Sacreline. There he was trained by Youco Dotiani to master the art of the Battlemagi and Conjuration.

Eventually he became a Corporal in The First Regiment, or the army of Stormwind and. While he served, he acted as the Secretary to the Ministry of Justice performing tasks and making sure the office of the Ministry of Justice was up to par and well stocked.

The most fateful of days for Hugo was when he and the rest of First Company was assigned to investigate shadow corrupted worgen in the lands of Duskwood. As they began to march through the dark lands, the worgen hunted them down with their howling and surrounded the Regiment. Fortunately, with some quick thinking by Maxen Montclair and Kimberly Sweete, the Regiment was able to temporarily push back the worgen menace. The team split into two and Hugo along with Nipsey Delany. As Hugo was investigating an old barn, he was cursed with a dark plague that twisted and contorted his body along with Corporal Delany. Fortunately, a cure was found among the wreckage of the barn and the two were temporarily saved for the worgen swarm returned with greater numbers. In order to get his men safely out of harm's way, he over-strained his body in creating a portal to save his regiment from a swarm of Feral worgen. The arcane energies tore through his body and forced his to succumb to death. Fortunately he had a soulstone made form him on that very day that saved his life at a terrible cost. Mirrors always show him as he was physically the exact moment of his death, a corpse cracking under the arcane.

As a Sergeant he finally completed his mage trials and reached the esteemed rank of Wizard.

Argus
On a recent campaign to Argus, he and Markus Stonewall were both gifted tabards of the Army of the Light in recognition of their bravery on the field of battle. Later, The First Regiment came back to Argus to participate in the war. It was on Argus that Hugo showed his leadership potential through patrols and reports. This valor propelled him further to the rank of Sergeant.

On the cursed planet, Hugo retook cities for the Broken and even did battle against a Pit Lord. He had taken down several Fel Reavers with his newly mastered Decay beam. Later, when the Regiment would return to Argus after a period of rest to assist in laying siege to lay siege to Antorus, he assisted in infiltrating Legion ships, eliminating the Horde and the infiltrators that were manipulating a Regiment of its forces,and in performing artillery fire for the ground troops on the battlefield during the initial siege.

= The Black Harvest = When he became a Private, Hugo found underground contacts that lead him to the Black Harvest. While most of the individuals there had hardened personalities and radically different views than his own, he took the oppurtunity to learn as much as he could, eventually coming in contact with Xul'ili Deathbringer.

This orcish woman showed him the ways of elemental decay and taught him how to use a spell that did not violate any laws of Stormwind. With the forces of decay, Hugo was able to not only damage one's soul but also their body as well. With this technique he was able to lay waste to the demons of Argus.

Furthermore, the Black Harvest ended up saving his life. He was given a soulstone by Sasha Storm as a form of insurance. However, that day his insurance ran out. Hugo's Regiment became surrounded by shadow corrupted worgen, and Hugo died to save his comrades.

When he died, he was faced with a terrible vision of the voidlords reigning over the Shadowlands. He asked Xul'ili for help in overcoming his fear and she took him to the Shadowlands. There he saw the faces of Thomas and the rest of the coven. Hugo's guilt began to toy with him and led him to a beating by the band of memories. He saw his wife and felt her guilt wash over him like in sea of sorrows. He needed to get stronger. He need to realize that the darkness in him was made by him. There were no voidlords, rather it was just Hugo. With this new found knowledge, he ventured to one last location to regain his strength.

During a campaign in the Swamp of Sorrows, he had conjured 100 arcane elementals to completely annihilate a threatening dire troll who was lobbing trolls through and breaching the fort. However, this act cost him dearly. During the attack, he had been wounded and was spewing blood from the abdomen. 1% of his soul had traveled to the Shadowlands. In a desperate effort to save his fate, he sacrificed that 1%--with shadow magic--and the rest of his mana to slay the troll and keep 99% of his life. While magic from the light has aided and strengthened his soul, the damage had been done. He could control his body but it was all now 1 percent harder for him than compared to his peers.

When Hugo returned to this place in his memory, he called out and sensed for his broken piece. He found it cowering away like a scarred child and came to comfort him. The soul and him came back together. However, the process was not complete because the scars on his souls were still present. Only a portion of his fractures rejoined for he would have to live with what he had done for the rest of his life.

= Family and Relationships = His heir for now is a small orphaned boy named Reggy Copperstein, son of James Copperstein. He is currently Renfield's protege of 12 years who lives with is his mother Patricia Copperstein, in Stormwind. Renfield have no relations with her although he was good friends with her husband who died during an environmental disaster during the cataclysm. Renfield has been giving funds and making sure Reggy grows up to be a strong young lad.

Oriae Shadowstrider
At the moment, he is romantically involved with Oriae Shadowstrider, a woman he met in his time in the Black Harvest. Their love began as a brief moment, but over time has sparkled and blossomed into a loving and caring relationship that mutually benefits both of them. At first, their love was a forbidden flame for she was a Sin'dorei warlock. However, after her void corruption she was cast out of the Horde along with the other Ren'droei and joined the Alliance, legitimizing their love in the eyes of Stormwind.

Roy Sebale
However, he is currently being trained and mentored by the wise Master Mage of the Sarceline Mage Circle, Sir Roy Sebale the Gentle. Hugo has respected Roy's intuition and magical prowess since he met him. Roy was the one who proctored his exams and took enough interest in him to take him in for squireship. Hugo hopes to prove to the Lieutenant his prowess and skills and eventually become not only a Cabalist but also a Knight of the Brotherhood of the Horse.

Vina Winemaker
Hugo met Vina Winemaker in the Harvest as well, however the two have fallen apart. Initally they were lovers and began their romance when Vina was injured and needed to recover; Hugo would visit her with chocolates and his esteemed company. When Hugo died he did not go to her and seek her council. Instead, he left. When he came back she rejected him and the two have been bitter to each other ever since.

Markus Stonewall
Hugo met Markus Stonewall on his first day as a recruit in the Royal army. He greeted him with a curt and intimidating grunt. Overtime, Stonewall became somewhat of not a father-figure, but more as the uncle he never had. The large intimidating man had a soft spot in his heart and cared deeply for his fellow soldiers.

Araceia Lightsmyth
Araceia Lightsmyth has been a good friend to Hugo since the moment he joined the army. He was the man he could rely on to get him out of a tight pinch and overtime became one of Hugo's closest friends.

Connorsela Silverblade
Connorsela Silverblade is someone who he sees as another valued ally. Despite, her decision to pursue the path of a spellblade, Hugo views himself as somewhat of a mentor to the young woman--as well as sometimes the victim of his own personal pranks. Despite this, he values Connor as a soldier of Stormwind and as a youth in need of guidance and support.

Pablo
No hero would be complete without their trusted steed. Pablo is the horse Hugo was given when he became a Sergeant in the King's army. Over time he has learned to tame and be seen as the master of the young stallion. Initially, Pablo was confused when Hugo would approach him in his worgen form as both forms had different scents and appearances. However, with the training of Roy Sebale, Hugo has learned to trust and grow with his horse despite having multiple forms.

Xul'ili Deathbringer
Xul'ili Deathbringer, despite being an orc, has been a valued teacher and friend to Hugo. She taught him how to use the spells of elemental decay that he now so heavily uses in combat. Furthermore, she has helped provide clarity of mind to him after he had died. Overtime, she has become a trusted ally and a true friend.

Kimberly Sweete
Kimberly Sweete is another close friend in the First Regiment. She was a few months senior to him in the army when he joined. Yet, he has seen her rise from a stuttering Sister to Mother and then all the way to Bishop of Westridge. She has been a holy guiding figure and has been one of the major forces to promote his faith in the holy light.

= Spells and items =

Nethermancy
Unlike most mages and members of his mage circle, Hugo relies on the forces of the twisting nether rather than on the power of the leylines. This form of magic came to him from the teachings of Archmage Salazar Demes. In essence, he is able to cast spells without worrying about the physical limitations of mana as long as he can visualize his spell taking action. However, this form of magic isn't invincible as it can drain one's physical stamina rather instead. In essence, he is limited by his maximum mana energy and how many spells he can cast before going into fatigue or exhaustion.

However, as his mana is in theory unlimited, he tends to provide mana fonts for his allies to use whenever combat is entered. At the same time, if he does that then he himself would lose his ability to cast at maximum efficiency, forcing him to spend even more stamina on his spells.

Decay
Hugo's primary element of evocation is elemental decay. It is a force that can force the elements to its will. However, Hugo's spell casting focuses more on the volatile nature of the spell. Decay allows him to break down components into their most basic elements. In addition, the volatile energies stem from the forces of the Shadowlands and allows him to break down even souls. What allows Hugo the legality of this is that decay technically isn't a necromatic spell. Rather, it is one of the 6 elements of the universe. Thus, its use--while rare--does not have enough correlations with necromancy to warrant his arrest. On the other side, it does place a physical toll on him. Using it heavily drains his stamina. It is only though his raw fortitude of mind and body that allows him to master this deadly art.

Bill
Bill is Hugo's staff that he was given when he rose above the rank of apprentice in the Stormwind army. Ever since then, he and Bill have gone on countless adventures and battles against the forces of Azeroth. Furthermore, based on the law of Sympathy, Bill has absorbed the pathways for decay magic, increasing its effectiveness with Hugo's special form of magic. In addition, Bill has also absorbed the pathways of conjuration, making that field much easier for him. As Hugo utilizes the forces of nethermancy, Bill also relies on one's connection to the nether in order to be fully optimized.

Dagger-wand
In addition to Bill, Hugo carries with him a standard dagger-wand of Stormwind. It is a small blade that can act as a wand when needed for situations that require a quick draw and extremely fast spellcasting. Most times, however, Hugo uses it when Bill is not at hand.

War Bill
As a part of his knightly training, Hugo has begun the path to master the war bill (English bill). He trains with this melee weapon daily for its unique functions in dealing with speeding cavaliers and disarming potential.

= Notes =
 * He can speak Common, Demonic, Old Eredun, Wolf, and Shath'yar(Old God Language).
 * He is not skilled in stealth, despite his intense training in illusion magic.