Meriahm Lausten

Meriahm Lausten (nee Parris) is a human mage from the Kingdom of Stormwind. She is the widow of Private Thomas Lausten. Formerly an administrator at the Mage Tower in Stormwind and a member of the Stormwind Army, she is currently serving as Vice-Chancellor of the Kirin Tor.

=Appearance=

Meriahm stands at 5'5" - not a particularly imposing height. She is slender and carries herself with an air of precision. Almost fifty-eight years old, Meriahm looks her age, with years of worry written in her features for all to see. Her hair has gone completely white, with only a few minor strands of grey left. She is a plain-looking woman, and anyone passing her on the street might not give her a second thought.

No matter what she is wearing, two things remain constant about Meriahm. Firstly, she always wears only two pieces of jewelry - a wedding band on a chain around her neck and a signet ring on her hand signifying her position as an Archmage of the Kirin Tor. Secondly, she always wears a weathered satchel.

She is frequently seen with a cup of tea. Those who have met her say that she is very quick to offer a cup to anyone who looks interested.

=History=

Early Years
Meriahm Parris was born in Stormwind, fifteen years before the opening of the Dark Portal. Her parents were shopkeepers, owning and operating a bookstore. It was in this store that Meriahm spent the first few years of her life, helping her parents organize their stock. Later in life, she would credit this as when her great love of reading began, and she would frequently finish her chores quickly so that she could hide away in the shelves, reading whatever she could find.

This life ended abruptly when her magical talents began to manifest at age nine. Meriahm was forced to bid farewell to her parents and travel to the city of Dalaran, where she began study under the Kirin Tor.

Dalaran and the fall of Stormwind
During her time in Dalaran, Meriahm was noted to be an excellent student. It was not her raw magical talent that made her stand out - she was no more or less talented than the average apprentice. Rather, what impressed her instructors was her dedication and discipline. She was a hard worker, often studying deep into the night and foregoing an active social life in favor of study. Her willingness to help her fellow apprentices, however, kept her in their good graces, even if very few of them could claim to be her friend. During this time, she was noted to be a fiery young woman, determined to learn all she could.

Meriahm was fifteen years old when the Dark Portal opened and the Horde came to Azeroth. She made an effort to stay in Dalaran during most of the war, believing herself too young and too inexperience to make a difference.

However, when it became clear the Horde was marching on Stormwind, Meriahm was forced into action. She traveled back to Stormwind to convince her parents to evacuate. Though initially resistant to the idea, the Horde's attack forced them to accept her offers of sanctuary in Dalaran. The three fled the city during the Battle of Stormwind, joining the refugees in fleeing north aboard the Lordaeron Fleet.

Once safely in Dalaran, Meriahm's parents chose to open another bookstore and stay out of the political chaos of the war. Meriahm, however, was deeply impacted by what she had seen, and resolved to do something about the death and suffering she had seen.

Thomas Lausten
Spurred by what she had witnessed during the fall of Stormwind, Meriahm began to divide her time between her studies and social work. She traveled to the refugee camps frequently. Her official duties consisted of helping feed and clothe the refugees from Stormwind. Unofficially, however, Meriahm spent most of her time sitting and talking with the refugees and hearing their stories.

During this time, she caught the eye of Thomas Lausten. Thomas, a young soldier in the Stormwind Army, was initially intimidated by the apprentice mage. Over time, however, he overcame this, and the two struck up a friendship. Meriahm was fond of Thomas' loyalty and strong sense of morality, while Thomas admired Meriahm's determination and compassion. Over the years, the two grew closer and closer, until at last they decided to be married.

The wedding was a disaster, and the two ended up being married in a stable with only Meriahm's parents and a very confused stable boy as the witnesses. Either way, both Meriahm and Thomas maintained that they would have had it no other way.

Return to Stormwind
When Stormwind was rebuilt, Meriahm and Thomas decided to return to the city and help with the rebuilding efforts. Meriahm was advanced to the rank of Archmage, giving her the power to help with the formation of Stormwind's Mage Tower. She worked tirelessly as an administrator to the Tower, ensuring that apprentice mages were not taught the same spell twice by the instructors. Thomas, meanwhile, rejoined his fellows in the Stormwind Army.

Meriahm's only major contribution to Stormwind politics during this time was sitting on the triumvirate that judged the traitorous nobleman Viserth Arenall. Lord Arenall, who had been accused of aiding an attempted coup, was tried in a very public and very controversial hearing. At the end of the trial, one of Meriahm's peers voted for execution and the other voted against. Placed in the situation of casting the deciding vote, Meriahm chose execution. Lord Arenall was hanged, an action that would haunt Meriahm for years.

Shortly before the Outland Campaign, Meriahm's life was shattered when Thomas Lausten was killed by an orc raiding party. Ignoring all protocol, she forced her way into the Stormwind Barracks where the Army had taken Thomas' body. When she saw it, Meriahm lost control of her magic. She let loose an arcane blast of immense power, severely injuring three of her colleagues and falling into a coma.

Thomas Lausten was buried in a crematory near the Tower of Azora. Meriahm, meanwhile, was taken to Northshire Abbey for care.

Rebuilding a Shattered Life
After nearly a year of being comatose, Meriahm finally awakened. Her powers were severely diminished by the blast, and she spent several months returning to her full strength. Once the caretakers at Northshire Abbey deemed her fit to return to duty at the Mage Tower, she took up her old position and continued on with her work.

The death of Thomas Lausten changed Meriahm deeply. The flame that once fueled her had dulled. She became quieter and more prone to spend time alone. It seemed to some as though without direction, her life would simply fade out.

Two things happened to change this. The first was that Meriahm learned that Viserth Arenall had been raised from the dead and joined the forces of the Forsaken. She pursued him through Northrend for a time before being captured and tortured. She escaped only when one of her allies attacked the tower where she was being held, burning it down. In light of this, Meriahm resolved to finish what she began and kill the mad warlock.

The second was that, almost on a whim, Meriahm enlisted with the Nethergarde Legion under Commander Krow. Initially hesitant about the idea, Meriahm threw herself into her work with the same determination she had shown many years before in Dalaran. Her efforts paid off, and she was made an NCO in the Legion. When the Nethergarde Legion went neutral and became the Blackstone Order, Meriahm took a position as Vice Commander, directly beneath Commander Krow.

During her tenure as Vice Commander, Meriahm led efforts by the Order to hunt and kill Viserth, although all of them failed. She also assisted and led some of the battles against the Scourge and other threats in the region.

Order and Chaos
Eventually, Meriahm chose to retire from active service in the Blackstone Order. She briefly sheltered in the home of one of her political rivals, resting and regaining her strength. This ended, however, when she was approached by Eillina Arenall. The daughter of Viserth Arenall, Eillina asked for Meriahm's help in stopping him once and for all - a request Meriahm was happy to lend her magic to. The two tracked Viserth to the Sunwell, laying a trap for him.

No one but Meriahm and Eillina know what occurred in that battle. When all was said and done, however, Viserth was dead, disintegrated by his own voidwalker.

The two women parted ways after this. Eillina vanished into the shadows, and Meriahm faked her own death in order to hunt down the last of Viserth's followers and demons. Once this was done, she returned to Stormwind, but only for a short time. Seeing the direction the war was taking, she elected to travel to Dalaran and formally rejoin the Kirin Tor, stepping up to her Archmage role. Even when offered her old position in the newly-reformed Blackstone Order, Meriahm declined, choosing to stay in Dalaran.

Magus Senate of Dalaran
Remaining active for fifty-nine years old, Meriahm serves as Vice-Chancellor of the Kirin Tor, assisting Chancellor Damon Halliwell and helping to lead the Magus Senate of Dalaran. She helps to maintain day-to-day activities in the Senate and advises Chancellor Halliwell in making decisions. She frequently leads Senate Sessions and represents the Senate at political functions, and is a strong voice for Dalaran.

In addition to her political role, Meriahm is currently directing the Kirin Tor's war effort in Azshara. She is putting her military experience to use leading strike teams of magi against the Bilgewater Goblins and the Kor'kron supply lines in the area.

=Personality and Political Views=

Age has mellowed Meriahm greatly. She has fully embraced the role of a counselor and adviser to her friends and colleagues, always ready with a word of advice or comfort. She prefers to talk a situation out over tea rather than take direct action, although she is willing and able to act when the situation demands it. This sometimes leads people to assume she is flimsy and ineffective as a leader, although in reality she is anything but.

Despite her normally open-minded attitude, Meriahm maintains a fierce hatred for the Horde. She blames the orcs and trolls for the murder of her husband, and believes the Forsaken are a plague on Azeroth.

Politically, Meriahm is one of the more liberal members of the Kirin Tor. She maintains that peace talks can solve most conflicts and prefers that the Kirin Tor not get involved in battles that do not directly involve them. She is a strong voice for unity in the Senate, often calling for negotiations and careful assessment of any situation before acting.

The one exception to this is the Horde. To the surprise of many who hear her speak, Meriahm is one of the most vocal voices in the Kirin Tor for all-out war with the Horde. Given the opportunity, she has stated, she would gladly mobilize the Kirin Tor and lead an attack on Undercity or Orgrimmar. Kirin Tor politics and years of neutrality, however, have thus far prevented her from doing this, although she maintains that she will soon take the fight to the Horde.

=Relationships=

After the death of Thomas Lausten, Meriahm resolved never to enter another romantic relationship. Even ten years after his death, Meriahm considers herself married to Thomas.

Her friendships, however, are another matter. Meriahm keeps an active circle of allies and friends in both the Magus Senate of Dalaran and the Blackstone Order. She is known for her advice and her listening ear, as well as her ability to keep a level head in a crisis. Her closest friends are Commander Krow (otherwise known as Gezzibelle Goldenfield), Sarendo Vadoma, and Dandrace Ta'kas. She maintains a strained and strange friendship with the DeVin family, particularly their patriarch and her political rival, Arranax DeVin.