Dahlia Tangiers

Dahlia Tangiers was born on November 7th twenty two years ago in Boralus. She was born to Morton Tangiers, a Tirasian citrus grower, and Amalie Tangiers nee Lyons, a Lordaeronian clerk. For several years the family lived an idyllic life of harvesting oranges and lemons and tangerines, their most prominent clientele the Kul Tiras Marine Corps. The need for such fruit to fight off scurvy at sea ensured that they were paid fairly, able to live a comfortable lifestyles- though still without many frills.

When Dahlia was eight years old, a naga raid on the region they lived in claimed the life of Amalie. Being the only child and very close to her mother, Dahlia was devastated by the incident and her behavior never truly recovered. She continued to work on the farm with her father, but was prone to bouts of isolation and antisocial behaviors. Running along the beach and finding places she could sneak into came naturally, as athletic as she was. Despite fights over her acting out and the grief that hung over the home, Morton and his child clung to each other as the last remnants of the family.

When she was fourteen years old, Dahlia witnessed a newly ascended lord among the ranks of the admiralty touring the isles. She had spent much time fantasizing about the life of nobility, and her mother had often told her grandiose tales of famous ladies in history. This brought her to the decision that she must gain the eye of the lord, and without a privileged birth there was no way to gain access to him. Thus, she took an impulsive and perhaps an extreme measure; She threw an orange at him as his procession was passing by. There was a great uproar as the guards looked through the crowd to see who had thrown the projectile, and Dahlia realized her error. She fled the scene with guards in tow and managed to elude their grasp for a time before they finally caught her in the family orchard.

While Morton expected his child to receive retribution for the act, the lord’s offer to him caught him off guard. He commended Dahlia’s agility and craftiness, able to evade his own guard and nearly escape. A short conversation followed in private and much to the young girl’s shock, Aurous Truecove informed her that she would attend to the ladies of his court. Morton appeared quite reluctant and hesitant about the ordeal, but the guilt of failing to protect Amalie made him believe that his child would be better off in more capable hands. Within a fortnight she was escorted away and Morton left alone at the orchard.

At first it was everything Dahlia could dream of, able to see the fineries of life in a court and experience luxuries that simple farm life couldn’t offer. She learned how to properly behave in such a setting, to play the lyre, and ensure that her lady had everything she needed. Over time, however, a more insidious purpose became apparent. One day Lord Truecove escorted her in the middle of the night to a more isolated portion of the castle, a dungeon in which an arena and training ground had been erected. Other girls of similar age to her were present, each of them completing the tasks that their various handlers assigned to them. Agility courses, stealth attempts, the use of various weaponry on dummies and false targets. Truecove informed her that her dexterity and cunning would be used for the good of the kingdom, telling her it was her duty to obey in exchange for all he had given her. Still enraptured by the fantasy of it all, Dahlia agreed without much argument.

The training was grueling at first and appearances were kept up by having her attend to the ladies of the court still, but over time the illusion was maintained and she was groomed in secret for her alternative purpose. She was never allowed to speak to the other girls and in the end she would never know what happened to them- eventually she met all the prerequisites by her handlers. It was now time for live targets. Utilizing the training she had received in intrigue, subterfuge, and assassination, she managed to kill a landed knight while posing as an escort. The ordeal left Dahlia shocked and confused, as knights were known to be heroic to the common people. Still, the lord assured her that the man was an enemy of the state and she had done well to handle it quietly.

So it continued with Dahlia growing into her own as a woman, spending several years leading a dual life as a courtier by day and an assassin by night. Her age was made up for by the fact that victims were not particularly wary about budding women, more concerned with other prospects to be had with them. Thus, whether sneaking in or using an alias and disguise, they were quite useful for dispensing of the enemies of her lord. The program was a secret maintained quite viciously, many other influential lords allowed to partake in various indulgences in exchange for moving against any prying eyes in the greater Admiralty.

Despite the luxury and glamor she had achieved, the work still wore heavily on Dahlia. She had become largely numb to the sensation of taking a life, but a selfish part of her reasoned that so long as she was valued and doing as the nobility said- she would have a life for herself. This all came to a close when one of Truecove’s peers, Count Farharbor, tried to forcefully take liberties with her. Unwilling to be degraded in such a manner, Dahlia cut his throat with a letter opener. Scandal rocked the region and she was given a trial for formality’s sake only and then sentenced to hang. In the last hours before she went to the scaffolding, however, her former benefactor arranged for her sentence to be commuted. She was exiled from Kul Tiras under pain of death should she return.

Dahlia arrived in Stormwind Harbor penniless, alone, and filled with strife over the turn her life had taken. The feeling of betrayal stung deep into her heart, and it took over a year for her to come to terms with everything. During that time she completed odd jobs and low level mercenary work to keep herself fed and with a roof over her head. After a failed attempt to persuade the local Tirasian ambassador about her case, she decided to seek out an order she’d seen a flyer for; The League of Lordaeron. A boat to Menethil Harbor and a horseback journey across the Thandol Span brought her to their base in the Hillsbrad Foothills. She enlisted the very night she arrived.

The enlistment marked a new beginning for Dahlia, and she quickly found herself deeply vested within the group. When conflict broke out between Lordaeronian refugees and Stormwind forces, the League was split into two camps. Dahlia was swayed to the side of the refugees by a mysterious and alluring assassin, Izobelle Jensen, who would come to influence Dahlia in their relationship. Eventually the two sides reconciled and the civil war was ended, but those who went against the High Commander and the Stormwind soldiers were viewed with suspicion and resentment for a long while. Despite this, she rose quickly among the ranks and became an indispensable asset to the scouts and agents of the League. Intelligence became her forte and she established the Intelligence Services as a Sergeant. Dahlia continued to give her all even as the League faced off with biomechanical undead, witch covens, and servants of the old ones. Eventually she was promoted into the ranks of the officer corps, assisting Demitria Rione in leading the order to new heights.

With the Third Invasion of the Burning Legion drawing to a tense and decisive final conflict, Dahlia remains with the League as a Captain. She aids the High Commander as their order continues its guerilla war to restore Lordaeron and her sister kingdoms to their rightful owners- and any other force that would threaten Azeroth, the Alliance, and Lordaeron.