Wardom Greywell

"Pride, Ambition, Callousness. These are not masks to wear on a whim. To excel as warlock, they must become your reality, for demons are not convinced by half-measures."

- Master W. Greywell, The Warlock Fundamentals (pg.1)

Born on June 18th, Year -12 ADP, Wardom Greywell is a famed warlock of the modern age. His contributions to the dark arts, in conjunction with his displays on the fields of battles past, has positioned him as a leading influence within the Alliance on matters of demonic magic.

Although originally heir to the prominent and wealthy Caris banking family of Old Stormwind, the once Eric Caris has not attempted to reclaim what his family lost during the destruction of the kingdom at the end of the Second War. He has abandoned his noble birthright and none but his favored apprentices are aware of his heritage.

Wardom Greywell is currently regarded as a Grand Warlock.

Early Life
Eric was the youngest of two sons in the Caris family, and although he was not born to the lady of the house, he was treated as an full-blooded heir. Eric would grow up in wealth and relative comfort at his family's stead in Redridge, moving to Stormwind at the age of 10 to be closer to his father, Andar Caris.

This was also the time he was informed about the circumstances of his birth, but it was a secret that would be kept from the public. Raidelen Greywell was permitted to mother Eric until the age of two, after which he passed into the care of Kilea Caris, who he would regard as his mother. He never met Raidelen in the following years, and she left the family House.

It was always intended that Eric and Tyrius, his older brother by one year, would run the banking empire of their family together. Although Tyrius would inherit the position of nobility as the first son. This relatively fair attitude cultivated a close, albeit competitive, kinship between the siblings. As the more academic and reserved of the two, Eric was raised being taught how to handle the family's assets, while Tyrius, the more outspoken of the two, was taught the rules of noble station.

The First and Second Wars
During the First War, the Caris family became know for its patriotism. It mobilized a generous portion of its assets to assist in financing the kingdom's military mission against the current Horde, now know as the Old Horde. The Caris family remained in Stormwind during the First War.

The Fall of Stormwind
The Caris family was not exempt from tragedy when Stormwind was met with destruction at the end of the First War. The Caris Banking House, as well as the Caris Residencey was burned down by orcish raiders. Andar, Eric, and Tyrius all escaped the invasion with their lives, however Kilea Caris perished in the fire. The fate of Raidelen Greywell is unkown.

The living members of the Caris family would escape to the Kingdom of Lordaeron as part of Stormwind's survivors led by Lord Anduin Lothar. They had escaped with a reasonable amount of gold stowed away on a merchant vessel owned by the family. This vessel was then donated to Lordaeron's military efforts.

Life in Lordaeron & The Silver Hand
Not content with the status as a refugee, Andar Caris quickly expended the evacuated funds to purchase a minor amount of land in Lordaeron. Eric and Tyrius would live on this land, while Andar quickly jumped at the opportunity to join the forming Order of the Knights of the Silver Hand.

Eric and Tyrius, growing into a suitable fighting age, would be found spending many a day practicing combat with training swords. Tyrius was considered the better fighter, unsurprisingly, being the eldest.

It was not long before Andar Caris joined the Silver Hand as one of its first members, and thus he was glad to approve the training of both of his sons. They would both be prepared to join the Order as quickly as time would allow, so that they would be ready to join their father come the full force of the next war.

During the Second War
During the course of the Second War, while Eric was still training to be accepted as a paladin, the Dreadlord, Sirthrolax, set his eyes on the remaining Caris household. Sirthrolax was tasked with creating a small warlock cult, loyal to the Burning Legion, to weaken the region come the Orc's assault. This group was meant to mirror the Shadow Council, acting as the Legion's servants on Azeroth, comprised of the native races. They would be spared from the Orcs conquest in order to assimilate the remains of Azeroth's subservient races, or at least those the Legion deemed worthy.

Taking pleasure in designing mockery of the Light, Sirthrolax desired to corrupt the newly founded Knights of the Silver Hand. Eric would fall victim to one of his designs, coming across a tome containing instructions into the dark arts. Poorly educated on demonic magics, Eric believed the content pertained to arcane magic, and studied its texts in secret. Sirthrolax would manipulate the young, aspiring paladin in the months to come.

When it came time for Eric and Tyrius to be anointed into the Silver Hand, they volunteered for a joint ceremony. Both brothers entered the cathedral, in presence of their father, and made their oaths as the new traditions demanded. However, when it came time for the Light to bless Eric, it did not come. The church darkened with unnatural presence, and after confusion escalated, Eric was accused of demonic possession. This, of course, was all due to Sirthrolax's hidden interventions.

After investigation located the demonic texts Eric had hidden, he was accused of practicing forbidden magics. His family was distraught. Andar Caris would be soon-after slain and possessed by Sirthrolax, who abused this influence to further escalate the accusations. Sirthrolax, as Andar, would attempt to execute Eric for heresy, but would be "killed" by Eric, who now wielded the very magics that had damned him. Eric would then flee, escaping retribution from the Order.

Tyrius, heartbroken and hateful at his father's death, would pursue Eric. Upon the next meeting of the brother's, only a few days later, Eric would kill Tyrius in self-defense. Sirthrolax, easily able to sway the traumatized acolyte, would continue to whisper dark secrets of shadow and flame into Eric's mind.

The Church of the Holy Light would later cover up the outcome of the incident. The Church would proclaim the deaths of all three men of Caris and would lay three graves appropriately. Current Alliance records claim that both Andar Caris and Tyrius Caris fell in battle against the Horde during the Second War, and that Eric Caris remained in Lordaeron where he fell to the Scourge threat during the Fall of Lordaeron.

Guided towards lost pockets of demonic power, Eric would encounter the hidden warlock masters of Lordaeron's Capital City. Sirthrolax intended to manipulate this circle of warlocks, but his intentions were uncovered and his influence removed from the young Eric. The Dreadlord would supposedly be unveiled and slain by mages of the Kirin Tor before he could finish his plans for vengeance against the warlocks.

Eric would remain with the circle of warlocks to receive formal training. He would learn how to keep his identity and arts hidden, and received a proper education in arcane magic under those he would call master. Once he was prepared, Eric would travel the Kingdom in the guise of a traveling sorcerer. By the time of the Third War, Eric had accumulated many encounters with orcs, Kirin Tor mages, fellow warlocks, and the hostile natives of Azeroth. Once he had progressed in the demonic arts, he took up a new name, as was not uncommon. Henceforth, he was Wardom Greywell, choosing the name in hopes to one day hold high the name of his forgotten blood mother.

The Third War
Wardom was not present in the lands of Lordaeron during the Third War. He had returned mostly to the regions belonging to Stormwind following the end of the Second War. There he searched for dark artifacts left behind by the Old Horde and there he also convened with warlocks seeking to reform the circle of what would later be the warlock hall of the Slaughtered Lamb.

Wardom would not be directly involved with the major conflicts of the Third War, news of Prince Arthas' betrayel, Dalaran's destruction, and the Invasion of Kalimdor having reached him each without much warning. Still Wardom, would have encounters with both the undead and demons before the Third War's end.

Post-Third War
Wardom would continue to advance in his arts following Archimonde's defeat. He would study in peace under his masters while partaking in journeys across both the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor to seek out demonic knowledge. He impressed many of his senior warlocks with his quick progress in the study of Demonology. He had passed his summoning trials without incident and was allowed to pursue the Ritual of Doom and Dreadsteed trials. He exceeded expectations in both cases.

Resentful of the past, Wardom offered his knowledge and magics to those seeking out the defeat of the Dark Horde.

The Ahn'Qiraj War
When information began to spread that the ancient powers within Ahn'Qiraj were stirring, a group of warlocks, Wardom included, traveled to Silithus in hopes of seizing dark lore and uncovering lost magics. What they had not planned for, was the global threat that the Silithid and Qiraji presented. The warlocks soon found themselves fighting alongside Alliance forces to fend off the Qiraji armies both for their own survival and the world's. During this time Wardom helped to uncover enchantments and crafting methods that would help slay their ancient enemy. Wardom would enchant and improve the gear of many adventurers and soldiers who fought in the Second War of the Shifting Sands. This was the beginning of his reputation as a competent artificer.

The Re-opening of the Dark Portal
Wardom would be one of the many mortal warlocks to rush to the Blasted Lands upon the Third Opening of the Dark Portal. Wardom volunteered in the battle against Doom Lord Kazzak's armies and would become one of the first human warlocks to step foot on the Stair of Destiny. He would be quickly join by his colleagues, and the group would quickly set out to plunder Outland of its secrets.

The Circle of the Pale Crow
It would not be long before numerous warlocks had ventured to Outland seeking to advance in the Dark Arts. Believing it necessary to establish themselves, Wardom and his colleagues established the Circle of the Pale Crow within the ruins of Auchindoun. Wardom was appointed as Grandmaster of the circle, due largely to his talent as a teacher of the new developments in the arts. During this occupation, Wardom would arrange the pilfering of many of the Shadow Council's archives and came into direct conflict with the Cabal.

The Siege of the Black Temple
Members of the Circle of the Pale Crow would, under mystical veil follow into the Black Temple after its siege by Shattrath's forces. There they would retrieve several texts that would eventually lead to a development of the warlock metamorphosis technique. Wardom would be one of the first in the circle to master the art, although the circle's iteration of the technique has since been largely lost to the craft. This has left Wardom as one of the sole remaining practitioners of this specific iteration of the ability.

Following the method's development, Wardom would be recognized as Grand Warlock, given his displays of mastery over the relevant schools of dark magic.

Assault on the Sunwell
Although many warlocks flocked to Quel'danas in hopes of stealing power from the Legion's forces there, Wardom would remain in Outland, content with continuing his work as a grandmaster. The Circle would use this distraction a an opportunity to actively seize assets from remaining Sunsworn forces in Outland as well as their Ethereal allies.

Unfortunately this would eventually draw the attention of Shattrath. Concerned that they would make enemies of the city and its allies, Wardom disbanded the Circle of the Pale Crow, proclaiming that its original purpose had already been fulfilled.

The Scourgewar
Wardom participated heavily in the Scourgewar, acting on his own for the majority of the conflict. Believing that the scourge threatened Azeroth with complete extinction of life, Wardom would remain on Northrend for the near entirety of the war.

During this conflict, Wardom continued to search for knowledge in the Dark Arts to assimilate, however was disappointed to find the Cult of the Damned poorly versed outside the necromantic arts. Instead Wardom would come to find opportunity within the dark recesses of Azjol'Nerub. Inviting many of his recent colleagues to join him, he uncovered several pockets of forgotten lore in shadowmancy.

The Pretender
Given his tendency to appear, uninvited, to scenes of conflict across Northrend, Wardom found himself often at odds with the other participating groups, including both the Kirin Tor and the Argent Crusade. Denounced for his use of magic and refusal for compromise, Wardom was quickly antagonized for selfishly acting on his own.

The Great Cataclysm & The Hour of Twilight
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The Invasion of Pandaria
WIP

The Thunder King War
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The Darkspear Rebellion
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The War in Draenor
WIP

The Third Invasion of the Burning Legion & the Legionfall War
WIP

The Knights of Solidarity
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The Black Harvest
WIP

The Burning Throne
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The Blood War
WIP

The Magmus Stone
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The Soul Crucible
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Written Works
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The Harpist's Grimoire of Demons & Fel
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Demonology: The Argussian Progress
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The Complete Compendium of Demonology
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The Rise and Fall of the Burning Legion
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The Pretender: My autobiography - Wardom Greywell & Eric Caris
Confessions of the Caris Family, The Life of Wardom Greywell, To my Son and To my Daughter

The Warlock Fundamentals
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The Philosophies and Methodologies of Dark Magic
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Demonology
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Nethermancy
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Titanic
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Personality
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Philosophies
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The Church of Light
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The Warlock Craft
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Knights of Solidarity
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Order of the Black Harvest
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Circle of the Lamb
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Circle of the Pale Crow
Formed by a group of the first mortal warlocks to cross into Outland following the Re-opening of the Dark Portal. Based within the intricate ruins of Auchindoun, the Circle was able to steal coveted knowledge from the outposts of the Shadow Council, including the Cabal and distant residents of Shadowmoon Valley. They were one of the first groups to learn of the warlock metamorphosis technique following the siege of the Black Temple. Wardom Greywell was elected as the Grandmaster of the circle after its founding, however he disbanded the circle after its existence was discovered by Shattrath.

The Circle was founded mostly by humans, but ultimately consisted of warlocks from both the Alliance and Horde.

While the circle no longer operates today, adventuring warlocks can still find safe-haven within its abandoned warlock hall.

Bale
During the Blood War, the Blood Elf mage, Lar'soras Dawnspeaker, sought to capture a phoenix within the Firelands. It was believed that this phoenix was to be used against the Alliance. Dawnspeaker and the phoenix were both ultimately slain by Wardom and his allies, and Bale was a product of the phoenix's rebirth. Though the circumstances not being entirely understood, Bale willingly follows Wardom throughout some of his travels.

Bale is a currently a newborn and possess an nonthreatening size. Although the phoenix has only displayed friendly and passive qualities, Wardom is entirely doubtful that he will be able to control the creature when it reaches adulthood.

Rust
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Demelos
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Nix-ithak
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Artomet
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Wardom's Dreadsteed
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Valkynere Portsmouth
Father Valkynere Portsmouth is considered Wardom's closest colleague. Considering him one of the only living warlocks more experienced and more knowledgeable than himself, Wardom is intent on learning all of father's most coveted secrets before the elder's inevitable passing.

Wardom Greywell and Valkynere Portsmouth are well known as two of the most prominent masters within Stormwind's walls, and both often collaborate with one another to publish acclaimed literary works.

Hugo Cornelius Renfield
Hugo C. Renfield is a know associate, having fought with Wardom during the battles for Stromgarde. Wardom is often critical of Hugo's actions, but nonetheless believes him to be a useful colleague.

Daelin Barrow
Daelin Barrow is a keeper, custodian, and guardian of the warlock halls beneath the Slaughtered Lamb. While currently appearing as little more than a young, worgen warlock; Daelin is Wardom's personal apprentice and protege.

Wardom intends for Daelin to inherit all of his knowledge and to continue his legacy. Wardom is often criticized for choosing Daelin as his successor, due to the boy's lack of ambition and introverted nature, however it is still considered likely that Daelin will be raised into becoming one of the Grand Warlocks of the next generation.

Daelin is proficient in the arts of Affliction and praised for his intimate knowledge of advanced and obscure curses. One of his only strong-suits.