Selvatore Melrony

Selvatore “The Wolf” Melrony is the Acting Boss of the Melrony Crime Family, a syndicate that breeds chaos and anarchy in the heart of Stormwind City. He is infamous as a tyrant and murderer throughout the realm and is a direct threat to and rival of the Grand Alliance. His gangland tactics are responsible for the hardship and death of many locals and heroes alike.

Appearance
Selvatore was born an average man in appearance, but years of war both on the frontlines and the gangland has left him a scarred, nasty mess. His body has been brutalized by injury beyond repair, flesh furrowed and twisted in the wake of countless blades, fists, and bullets. In the aftermath of remains a face that, while not wholly unsightly, is rather homely in nature. Age has certainly been no friend of his, for his features snarl only further into in the midst of obscenities and leave him with something of a perpetual scowl. This disfigurement is redeemed, even if only in the slightest way, by the habitual grooming that keeps orderly not just the ever-paling waves atop his head but the coarse, white shadow of his beard.

There is no laxness to his posture, head high over the thick column of his neck and broad shoulders bracing apart in a manner that seems to imply a martial background. It goes matched by the depth of his chest and the firming muscle over his middle, warped by slash and puncture alike in his past scuffles. In height and heaviness of limbs alone, he is matched by few his age, for the years have done little to sap the vigor of his thick limbs. The only fading shadow are that of old, inking elegant scripture scrawling out 'Elaine' upon his chest and elaborate strokes drawing down his back a pair of angelic wings, each feather masterfully worked into detail. It would perhaps be a beautiful sight if not contrasted by an ugly blotch of black on his bicep.

Equipment
The defensive antics utilized by Selvatore are simply crafted in the plain aim to deny blades and bullets their target if not skillfully maneuvered around his own insightful actions. Platemail, ornamented by a layer of thin, decorative bronze, guards him from an uncanny array of attacks which are scarred upon its cobalt painting. In return, his aggressive measures are best shown in the weaponry he carries. The longswords he wields are effective, even if simplistic with only strength of steel to enforce each wind-whistling stroke or piercing jab; they are adorned only by a single sapphire embedded into each hilt. Their usage are undoubted for a faint, red staining has soaked into them. Should such a mundane approach fail, he keeps with him a sawn-off shotgun. It is of no unique merit, but like any gun of its kind it packs a powerful punch. This simplistic reliability has come to lean in his advantage; few ever expect to have their 'fool proof' plans turn upon their head by one who needs no ornate or high-tech gear to do such.

Personality
As one of the longest lasting crime lords in the history of Stormwind, Selvatore values his own code of honor and self preservation above all else. Whilst well spoken, his words often without formality and are littered with rude and vulgar behavior. Those around him would speak only his ruthless and vicious ways if not for the penalty of doing so. He is an opportunist, a man who can resist little temptation, and is is willing to turn on even his greatest ally if it will offer him great fortune. More often than not, he will spend days on end preparing for each and every situation he is to encounter, believing all around him are just as greedy and self serving as he.

His lifestyle amongst his peers of confidence and prestige, where he is always taunting his enemies and surrounding himself with exotic women, is but a ruse to the truth of his caged mind. In actuality he is a nervous wreck, a man suffering from endless amounts of shellshock. With his growing age he fears the worst to come, hoping that his ultimate demise can be put off just one more day longer. Nothing could be more unsettling to him than to think that all of his schemes and his work would come to a smoldering nothing, that his enemies could prevail and he be forgotten like so many others.

Philosophy and Politics
Selvatore is an evil man and believes himself greater than any other in the scale of the world. He is a loyalist only to his own organization, but cares little for those beneath him and even less for those that suffer for his actions. In many ways he could be considered an anarchist, scorning the rule of law and the sense of justice. Very rarely is he a merciful man and is responsible for the deaths of countless men and women. He is even less accepting than he is merciful, only tempering his racism and misogyny when greed is involved. His staunch ambition is what drives him and for it he has lost loved ones and gone through great injury.

Racism & Prejudice
Like most men of volatility and closed mindedness, Selvatore is without a doubt a bigot. He is very subjective to women and those that would serve his group must put twice the work in of any man. He disdains the non-humans of Azeroth, especially the Undead whom he blame for the deaths of his friends and family in Stratholme. Even in casual conversation he often makes jabs of their skin tones and features and mocking those that would try to correct his error. There are but a handful of individual minorities who have earned enough of his respect to be excluded from such treatment.

Yet there is no tolerance granted to the Horde. After facing them in the Second War he has deemed them enemies for life, seeing the orcs as nothing more than monsters to be exterminated at the earliest convenience. Even after their aid in the world conflicts, Selvatore sees those that side with them as disgusting, foul race-traitors. Such hatred is one of the few areas that he is unwillingly to put aside in favor of business. At best, he has agreed to an armistice with these the greenskinned aliens, but never has he cut deals with them.

The Light
Selvatore is far from a pious man, but his belief in the light is certain. It is unfortunate for him that his actions have alienated him from the priestly orders he would agree with wholly. His antics against the Alonsus Chapel and the Church of the Holy Light have made him an enemy of faith.

Hatred for the Crown
The Culling of Stratholme has never left the mind of Selvatore. He sees no difference in the restored House of Wrynn and the tainted House of Menethil or any other royal blood in Azeroth. In truth, he attributes the same tyrannical face to all royalty. There had been a time he would've rejoined the Alliance and fought in the third war, but such days are passed. Now he never speaks of his time served or the tremendous battles he fought in. He has spent a good portion of his time in Stormwind to strip the 'establishment' of their power and get vengeance. His hatred has gone as far as to tear asunder foreign Tanari governments and instill anarchy in smaller kingdoms.

Romance and Relationships
Throughout his entire life Selvatore has truly been afraid of commitment. He has been engaged several times, but always got cold feet just weeks before the marriage. His taste in women has often been very skewed and without class, favoring the harlots and floozies over respectable and loving women. He surrounds himself with temptation in all its forms, debauchery and hedonism making up much of his laxed time. In his waning years he looks on at his own demise and regrets his many failures at love.

Elaine & Ezra O'rouke
Upon his arrival to Stormwind, Selvatore was bask with women both of the local taverns and the exotic immigrants far and wide. But one woman stood out to him more than the rest, Elaine O'Rourke. She was a brunette beauty whose innocence was only masked by the devilish manner in which she worked for him. Having grown up in Stratholme he was not used to such strong women and so it allured him, drew him in, and he fell in love. They had moved into his manor together and he had went as far as to have her named printed upon his chest forever. Truly they were happy, but Selvatore was not a man who could realize how good he had it. He allowed himself to be strayed afar from his love and charmed by those whom only cared to serve their own interests. In a single moment he drove Elaine away by holding a gun to her head. Years later, after they had gone their separate ways, the two reunited in the wake of Selvatore's return to Stormwind. It did not take but a single interaction for that long untended flame to reignite. For a short time, they were happy and he without worry of the world. But as all things, history was doomed to repeat itself. The womanizing ways of a man like he could never settle down as she wanted. His promises were all broken, even when her belly was big with child. The tragedy of their romance resonated in the relationship between he and his son, Ezra, whom he does not regard highly. Like his own father, Selvatore sees nothing more than another problem in the boy – a chore to his broken life.

Beginnings (18 P.C. - 11 L.C.)
Selvatore Melrony was born to Antonio Melrony, the Acting Boss of the Melrony Crime Family, and his wife Carmela. His upbringing was one of terrible influence and violence, even during the age of peace before the Orcish Wars.

Early Life
Like many born to criminal parents, Selvatore's birth was but a footnote to their own personal problems. There was no momentous celebration of his coming into the world, but merely a small gathering of trusted friends and family in the slums of Stratholme. Even as the first born and heir to his father's legacy, he was seen as a hindrance meant to be locked away somewhere. He thought himself cursed as a boy, knowing not a father's love and seeing only violence around him. Selvatore's youth was abundant with fighting, drinking, and exposure to matters far more mature than appropriate for his age.

The only escape from such routines were the love of his mother, however conditional it may have been. She was a broken woman, beaten and abused, but her friendship softened the blow of his father's unforgiving ways, providing and escape for the boy as came to understand the gangland. His father was a volatile man always in a drunken haze, a way of life that would alienate his son for years to come. Luckily the old man was always on business handling the affairs of the criminal underworld and would not return home for days at a time. Selvatore truly hated the man, but he respected him like any child would their father.

The Second War and Its Aftermath
Growing up like Selvatore did made him look for a way out, any way out, and so he turned to the one place that would whisk him away – the army. He enlisted long before the draft and was thrust into the front lines of the Alliance of Lordaeron's war against the Horde. It did not take long for Selvatore to regret his decision, in fact, his old life did not look so bad when facing down the warmongering orcs. Each and every day was not about honor or duty, and certainly there was no glory to be had. It was just like at home, just like in the streets; it was survival. He hoped to wake up the next morning without a blade in his neck, and prayed to the gods that he'd make it through the grueling day to slumber once more. It was bloodshed and death all around him, each battle numbing him more and more to the goodness that once rested in his soul.

After years of serving as a sergeant within the rustic foothills of battlefields far away, Selvatore was discharged and sent home. Such a grand city as Stratholme, however, was not free from the brutish nature of its attackers. The buildings had been left in rubble – razed by the orcs in their conquest of conquering destruction. Citizens of the Northern Provinces were left in scattered disarray as they could do nothing to stop the burning of their homes, and those returning from war were met with no celebration. Soldiers were starved without work, and the slums of the city suffered the worst of it. Within the chaos of a recovering city, Selvatore was left to once again find his place.

Criminal Origins (12 L.C. - 22 L.C.)
After Selvatore’s return from a grueling and harsh war, he’d find the city he once called home hadn’t been spared its anger. Sacked by the Horde, Stratholme was in a state of being rebuilt to its former glory – half finished skeletons of homes and shops causing the bustling city to feel a bit emptier than it once had. Unfortunately for the man of battle, Selvatore had nothing he could offer to the shambled city. Years of hardened killing had ensured his skillset was precise to the profession he’d chosen, but with the fighting over, he found himself dreadfully out of place in a city of civilians and relative peace.

His cruelty left him with only one option to turn to – one place that he was sure would still accept him, even after his absence. Like so many others, he turned to his family to serve a father that he so deeply despised. The work Selvatore conducted fit a man of his brutal nature, men and women alike falling to his blade as he worked his way through the ranks of the Family. His savagery as a hitman secured him a place of certainty, before he inevitably moved to the higher rank of capo.

Celebrations of his success were short lived, however, as his father’s blood was spilt. Years of this man’s abuse, whoring, and drinking, had poisoned his disposition, turning him into a man of terrible nature and pushed Selvatore’s mother, Carmella, to her limit. Too much evil and murder had reached her, wearing away at the woman’s will to stand it. Plunging a knife deep into her husband’s throat, she secured an end for the crime lord, leaving him dead on the kitchen floor for Selvatore to deal with – never to be seen again.

The sudden vacuum of power caused another war to erupt in Selvatore’s life, though this time with the men he once called his brothers and sisters. Despite the Underboss’ attempts to claim his place as the head of the table, Selvatore brought a swift end to his life and secured the title of boss as his own. Stratholme’s slums were plunged into years of his rule, knowing none akin to his atrocity.

The Culling of Stratholme (23 L.C. - 32 L.C.)
With the city rebuilt and the slums still within the vice-like grip of the Family, the future was looking rather bright for Selvatore. Though, rumors and unsettled spirits had once again begun to drift through the city, no one taking heed of the hell that was about to come. In an instant, the air of Stratholme was filled with screams of terror as undead hordes descended upon the city – Arthas’ retribution knowing no bounds as he cut down whoever he saw in his conquest to rid the world of this plague. Man, woman, and child were hardly safe from the Paladin’s wrath, and slowly but surely, chaos set the city aflame. As Selvatore watched all he’d built crumble before him, he knew what had to be done to save what he could. Cutting his losses, he fled the city while he still had the chance, leaving everything behind and one day vowing to retake what was rightfully his.

Unfortunately, the aftermath of Arthas’ campaign and the undead that now littered the city made this a feat not to be taken lightly. Plagued lands surrounded the once-beautiful Stratholme, a sickly fog laying over what remained as smoke choked the skies from the burning rubble of the buildings. Even a ghastly sight such as this, however, wouldn’t stop Selvatore from attempting to claim it back from the Undead Scourge that had ruined so much. Year after year passed of failed attempts to take it, the endless hordes of the damned and ruined soil making it rather impossible to create anything of merit from the ruins. A decade passed before Selvatore realized that he would no longer be able to restore what he had in Stratholme, turning his back on it and seeking more lucrative ventures in crime.

Stormwind City (33 L.C. - Current)
Never in the history of mankind has there ever been such a collection of powerful people loitering about the same city. It was a place of ample wealth and even greater potential. Being the last standing bastion of humanity, it was certain Selvatore would make this his new home. Shortly after arriving, he and his people began operations. They ran their business out of a small manor in Elwynn Forest and used it as a hidden staging point against the other criminal elements.

The Ishuran War
While it started off slow, the Family grew in power and delivered a devastating blow not more than a few months later. In a grueling gang-war that turned the entirety of Stormwind into a battleground, Selvatore led his forces against the foreign influence of Ishura. Many rival gangs threw their banners in with the small Tanari kingdom, but only to see them burned. His tactics and soldiers, who were comprised mainly of military veterans and plated mercenaries, were far superior to the mere numbers of his enemies and so the foreign nation was plunged into chaos and left to writhe in its own failure. This event resonated far across the world and left a mark that no one saw coming. War like never seen before in the criminal underworld exploded leaving hoards of criminals to test their mettle against Selvatore.

The Dark Dreams Incident
Main Page: Dark Dreams Incident During a meeting to unveil the Family's newfound oil business, a rig owned and operated by the Stoneye Clan failed catastrophically. The pump clogged, and pressure began to build until geysers of pressurized oil broke through the surrounding ground. The crude oil proved animate and hostile, and the assembled personnel had to fight their way to freedom and safety. During the encounter, Selvatore managed to slay a giant monster – an amalgamation of the crude, black sludge. Still it was not enough to save their venture and it exploded.

In the aftermath Selvatore was approached by a shadowy agent who saw how the creatures were dispatched. For that he was offered a deal; an opportunity to steal a relic of great power. Over the course of one week he disguised himself as 'Father Longhat' and brought his 'Order of the Nancy Teapot' to the military campaign. Tooth and nail ground was gained for the heroes while the Family hoarded stolen goods from the deceased.

After the defeat of the Cult of New Day, the Lord-Commander, Jeremaias Auromere, cleverly hid the artifact from Selvatore's grasp and ordered it transferred immediately. He hired the Greyshields to act as a convoy and discretely travel with the unholy object, but plans were not so easily kept quiet. The mob boss staged an ambush just at the entrance of Duskwood, his men planted in burrows covered by dead grass and dirt. All was in his favor, but the heroism of the Greyshields beat back his forces. It was only in the fray of confusion that the pilferers made it out with their lives.

In Recent Times
Selvatore and his band of ruffians continue to act out in the city, shaking down businesses for tribute and murdering the innocent. His people roam the streets beating citizens profusely and have struck of wave terror and violence that rallies more to its cause daily. Where his name is said, the Family has already taken influence, seen and unseen.

The Family
Main Page: Melrony Crime Family

Selvatore, by the birthright of his father, stands as the head of the Melrony Crime Family. It is the weapon in which he uses to create chaos and flood his coffers with gold.

Corruption in the Keep
Main Page: Stormwind House of Nobles

It is no secret that the House of Nobles is but the most corrupt entity in the realm. It bred the likes of Edwin VanCleef and harbored the dragon queen, Onyxia. It is only suiting that a man with a bounty on his head would have such influence in its inner workings. Selvatore has spent years undermining its authority and instilling his own corrupt cast of puppets. They are his web of ears, listening forever to the whispers of his sworn enemies and knowing their moves ten paces in advance.

The Subjugated
In truth, there are no allies to Selvatore. There are the oppressed citizens of Old Town and the slums of Stormwind who would throw their banners in with the Family solely for their own well being. They have lived long enough under his tyranny to know that to disobey his people and deny them their racketeering is to pay dire consequences. When crimes are committed, they keep their head low. When his name is spoken, their tongues go silent, for a rat is synonymous with a deadman.

Scales of Justice
Main Page: Stormwind City Guard

The shield of defense for Stormwind and her people against Selvatore is the Guard. It is an eternal struggle that will never end. Forever there will be crime and forever there will be those willing to put their lives on the line to stop it. Some scholars would argue this is a natural cycle, but the common man has no illusion as to whom is good and whom is evil.

The Shadowy Rivals
While there was an argument to be made that Selvatore was always the most ruthless man in the room, he was certainly not the most clever. In the wake of the Defias Brotherhood, other entities had came to Stormwind long before he and had established powerful footholds in the various districts. Even to this day much of his time has been spent warring against these diverse factions. They come in many faces and with different names, but to him they are all but the same task. At times he has been known to ally these groups, others to subjugate them, and on occasion he has obliterated them. Such things have been no easy task and he has come close to death in many brawls.

Heroes of Azeroth
Main Page: Heroes of Azeroth

Sometimes Selvatore's schemes have been far too devious and in those moments it is more than mere guards needed to stop him. Usually of the Alliance faction, the Azerothian Heroes have put their lives on the line to defend the innocent from his pawns. Many have died by his hand, great men and women who have faced down the terrifying foes of mankind. Still, they have kempt his great onslaught more than once and will continue to persevere against even his most wicked plans.

Trivia

 * Selvatore's gear is crafted by NiaTech. Precision Gilnean Engineering.
 * Thanks to a freak accident, Selvatore has the disease Squaids.
 * Selvatore is very picky about his alcohol and will only drink bourbon.
 * Secretly, Selvatore keeps the evil, cannibal rapist, Edgar Von SteelLame​'s head in a jar.
 * Despite being engaged several times, Selvatore has never been married.
 * Selvatore has never visited Draenor (AU).